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B    3    5E6    4^1. 

(ill|p  Intuprsttg  of  (Elitraso 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA 
AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 


A  DISSERTATION 

3UBM.  TTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND 

LITERATURE  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

(department  of  ENGLISH ) 


BY 

LEE  MONROE  ELLISON 


A  Private  Edition 

Distributed  by 

The  University  of  Chicago  Libraries 


A  Trade  Edition  is  Published  by 

QIl)t  (SnllisiBi*  ipma 

GEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MENASHA,  WISCONSIN 

1917 


QII|F  Imoprsitti  of  OHitfago 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA 
AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 


A  DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL  OF  ARTS  AND 

LITERATURE  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

(department  of  ENGLISH) 


BY 

LEE  MONROE  ELLISON 


A  Private  Edition 

Distributed  by 

The  University  of  Chicago  Libraries 


A  Trade  Edition  is  Published  by 

GEORGE  BANTA  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MENASHA.  WISCONSIN 

1917 


CONTENTS 

Preface iii 

Chapter  I 
Romantic  Elements  in  the  Early  English  Mask 1 

Chapter  II 
The  Influence  of  the  Mask  on  the  Early  English  Court  Drama       39 

Chapter  III 
The  Early  Romantic  Drama  of  the  Court 48 

Chapter  IV 

Early  Surviving  Romantic  Plays 87 

Chapter  V 
The  Early  Romantic  Drama  in  Contemporary  Criticism 130 

Bibliography 141 


3S32G2 


PREFACE 

Early  in  the  course  of  my  studies  in  Elizabethan  drama  I 
undertook,  at  the  suggestion  of  Professor  Manly,  to  prepare  a 
bibliographical  compilation  of  the  sources  of  all  romantic  plays 
produced  in  England  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
in  so  far  as  these  sources  had  been  determined  by  previous  research. 
Though  designed  merely  as  a  preliminary  exercise  in  the  methods 
of  graduate  work,  this  survey  proved  both  interesting  and  sug- 
gestive. It  revealed  the  precise  limits  which  had  been  fixed  by 
the  combined  labors  of  former  students  in  determining  the  source 
relations  of  Elizabethan  drama,  and  it  suggested  a  comparative 
analysis  of  the  plays  of  the  period  with  a  view  to  determining 
the  relative  importance  of  particular  types  of  romantic  literature 
in  providing  plot  material  for  Elizabethan  playwrights. 

Out  of  these  rather  general  considerations  came  the  suggestion 
for  the  present  study.  The  attempt  to  reduce  the  varied  forms  of 
romantic  appeal  to  something  approximating  regular  classifica- 
tion served,  of  course,  to  emphasize  the  obvious  conventionality 
in  motive  and  incident  which  many  plays  of  the  period  exhibit, 
and  to  demonstrate  the  fact  that  much  of  the  plot  material  had 
been  standardized,  so  to  speak,  and  needed  only  to  be  assembled 
and  adjusted.  It  soon  became  apparent,  also,  that  the  romantic 
devices  and  conventions  which  I  had  designated  as  "mediaeval," 
in  contrast  to  those  of  Renaissance  origin  and  affiliation,  were 
overwhelmingly  predominant  during  the  early  period  of  Eliza- 
bethan drama.  Thus  the  contact  of  mediaeval  literature  with 
the  later  romantic  secular  drama  seemed  to  constitute  a  logical 
topic  for  investigation.  But  owing  to  the  particularly  fugitive 
character  of  all  evidence  bearing  upon  the  history  of  the  popular 
stage  in  England  prior  to  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, it  seemed  advisable  to  rest  my  study  upon  the  more  stable 
foundation  of  the  court  performance.  Here,  at  least,  we  are 
dealing  with  a  demonstrable  matter.  The  appropriation  of  the 
materials  of  mediaeval  romantic  literature  by  the  purveyors  of 
royal  entertainment  is  proved  by  contemporary  records  to  have 
begun  at  an  early  date;  and  the  sudden  emergence  of  this  form  of 


VI  RO]VL\NTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

qur.si-dramatic  activity  into  real  drama  at  the  court  of  Eliza- 
beth had  been  provided  for  by  many  years  of  practically  unbroken 
tradition. 

The  period  during  which  I  have  attempted  to  trace  the  develop- 
ment of  the  romantic  drama  is  terminated  naturally  by  the  inaug- 
uration of  new  fashions  and  the  popularizing  of  more  novel  themes 
by  the  promoters  of  dramatic  innovation.  The  passing  of  the 
mediaeval  vogue,  in  all  but  plebeian  circles,  may  be  thought  of  as 
complete  by  the  year  1585.  Its  recrudescence  upon  the  popular 
stage  during  the  last  decade  of  the  century  does  not,  of  course, 
come  within  the  scope  of  the  present  study. 

Perhaps  it  would  not  be  out  of  place  to  add  a  word  in  explana- 
tion of  the  reasons  that  led  me  to  include  a  discussion  of  the  play 
Common  Conditions  in  a  dissertation  which  purports  to  deal  with 
the  survival  of  mediaeval  Hterary  conventions  in  the  sixteenth 
century  court  drama.  If  my  conjecture  be  correct,  the  story 
upon  which  that  play  is  based  reached  the  dramatist  not  through 
mediaeval  channels,  but  in  the  form  of  an  ItaHan  novella.  Never- 
theless, the  story  is  characteristically  mediaeval.  The  afhHation 
with  the  legend  of  St.  Eustace  and  its  analogues  is  sufficient  proof 
of  this.  Furthermore,  there  could  be  no  more  striking  indication 
of  the  strength  of  the  heroic  tradition  in  Elizabethan  drama  at 
this  period  than  the  care  of  the  dramatist  to  supply  whatever 
conventions  were  lacking  in  the  narrative  version.  There  is, 
to  be  sure,  no  direct  evidence  that  Common  Conditions  was  ever 
presented  at  Court;  but  in  view  of  the  extraordinary  demand  for 
acceptable  drama,  the  assumption  that  so  good  a  play  was  not  over- 
looked by  the  Master  of  the  Revels  can  hardly  seem  wholly  unwar- 
ranted. Besides,  I  should  like  to  repeat  that  I  make  no  claim  for 
the  court  play  as  a  distinct  genre.  It  is  the  character  of  the  drama 
during  an  important  period  in  its  history  that  we  are  interested 
in  tracing;  and,  since  Common  Conditions  is  one  of  the  few  surviving 
representatives  of  the  kind  of  dramatic  activity  with  which  this 
dissertation  is  concerned,  its  exclusion  could  hardly  be  demanded 
on  strictly  logical  grounds. 

In  the  pursuance  of  this  study  I  have  received  indispensable 
assistance  from  certain  members  of  the  Faculty  of  the  University 
of  Chicago,  which  I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging.  To  Profes- 
sor Manly  I  am  indebted  for  the  original  suggestion,  as  well  as 
for  invaluable  counsel  upon  matters  of  detail  while  the  work  was 


PREFACE  Vll 

in  progress.  My  obligations  to  Professor  C.  R.  Baskervill  are  no 
less  great.  The  results  of  my  labors  have  in  every  instance  passed 
under  his  immediate  inspection,  and  whatever  of  merit  this  trea- 
tise possesses  is  due  in  no  small  measure  to  his  influence.  Finally, 
I  have  to  thank  Professor  Karl  Pietsch,  of  the  Romance  Depart- 
ment, for  the  generous  interest  which  he  has  shown  in  my  studies, 
and  to  express  my  gratitude  for  the  valuable  assistance  which  he 
has  rendered  me  in  getting  together  a  working  bibliography  of 
the  older  romantic  literature  of  Europe. 

L.  M.  E. 
Chicago,  June  3,  1916. 


CHAPTER  I 
Romantic  Elements  in  the  Early  English  Mask 

In  the  general  obscurity  surrounding  the  early  history  of  Eng- 
lish dramatic  literature  the  origin  and  development  of  the  mask  is 
traced  with  special  difficulty.  Not*  only  is  there  an  absence  of 
any  but  the  most  meager  of  contemporary  records  or  other  sources 
from  which  accurate  information  can  be  drawn,  but  there  is  also 
an  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  the  terms  in  which  the 
earhest  recorded  performances  are  described,  that  makes  it  quite 
impossible  to  speak  accurately  of  their  character.  Stow  mentions 
m^ummings  as  ha\ing  been  presented  in  1236  and  again  in  1298, 
and  gives  a  detailed  account^  of  an  exhibition  in  the  nature  of  an 
elaborate  dumb  show  which  was  arranged  in  the  streets  of  London 
in  1377,  ''for  the  desport  of  the  yong  prince  Richard  son  to  the 
blacke  prince."  That  the  ludi  with  which  Edward  III  cele- 
brated Christmas  at  the  Castle  of  Guilford,  in  1348,  were  drama- 
tic in  character,  seems  to  be  indicated  by  the  nature  of  the  proper- 
ties and  materials  employed.-  These  afford  convincing  evidence 
also  that  the  taste  for  bizarre  and  gorgeous  decoration  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  mask  of  the  time  of  Henry  VIII  was  of  early  origin, 
the  entry  in  the  accounts  of  the  wardrobe  for  these  performances 
including,  among  other  things,  "Eighty  tunics  of  buckram  of 
various  colours,  forty-two  visours  of  various  simiHtudes,  .  .  . 
fourteen  mantles  embroidered  with  heads  of  dragons,  fourteen 
white  tunics  wrought  with  heads  and  wings  of  peacocks,  fourteen 
heads  of  swans  with  wings,  fourteen  tunics  painted  with  eyes  of 
peacocks,  fourteen  tunics  of  English  linen  painted,  and  as  many 
tunics  embroidered  with  stars  of  gold  and  silver. "  The  few  remain- 
ing references  to  mummings  and  disguisings  during  the  thirteenth 
and  fourteenth  centuries  throw  little  light  upon  their  real  nature; 
whether  they  were  anything  more  than  mere  spectacles  or  the  antics 
of  disguised  merry-makers  and  dancers,  it  seems  impossible  to 
determine  with  certainty.^ 

1  Survey  of  London,  ed.  1633,  p.  78  f.  See  also  Brotanek,  Die  Englischen  Masken- 
spiele,  (Wiener  Beitrage,  Band  XV.)  p.  6,  and  Collier,  Hist.  Eng.  Dram.  Poetry,  I,  26. 

^Warton,  History  of  English  Poetry,  ed.  Hazlitt,  II.  72.  Cf.  also  Accounts  of  the 
Expenses  of  the  Great  Wardrobe  of  King  Edward  III.     Archaeologia,  XXXI.  37  ff. 

'  For  the  controversy  regarding  the  particular  significance  attaching  to  the  early 
use  of  the  terms  ludi,  disguisings,  mummings  and  masks,  the  reader  is  referred  to 


2  Ro:iAj<i  ac  dr\ma  at  the  English  court 

By  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  however,  the  species 
had  become  clearly  differentiated.  It  had  undertaken  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  definite  theme,  either  by  the  interchange  of  speech 
between  the  characters,  or  by  means  of  a  descriptive  and  explana- 
tory monologue,  and  consequently  deserves  the  dignity  of  being 
considered  a  variety  of  dramatic  literature.  We  are  able  to  speak 
thus  positively,  because  we  have,  in  the  work  of  Lydgate,  poetry 
written  expressly  as  an  accompaniment  for  the  mask.*  "Devy- 
ses  for  desguysings, "  or  '  'mommynges, "  is  the  name  which  Lydgate 
gives  to  these  interesting  and  historically  important  productions. 
Strictly  speaking,  they  are  not,  it  is  true,  dramatic.  They  make  no 
use  of  dialogue ;  nor  do  they  develop  their  motive  force  from  within 
through  the  reaction  of  character  upon  character.  Their  impor- 
tance in  the  history  of  the  mask  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  mark  a 
point  at  which  the  disguisings,  in  addition  to  their  spectacular 
appeal,  undertook  the  presentation  of  an  idea  which  is  capable  of 
rational  and  intelligible  explanation.  The  mere  grotesque  shows 
continued  to  be  exhibited,  from  time  to  time,  until  far  into  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth;  but  in  the  main  the  masks  and  court  pageants, 
from  the  work  of  Lydgate  onward,  begin  to  have  a  theme,  and  it 
becomes  possible  to  study  them  from  the  point  of  view  of  subject- 
matter.  The  nature  of  the  themes  which  the  early  devisers  of 
masks  and  pageants  sought  thus  to  represent  objectively  by  means 
of  costume  and  pantomime,  the  sources  from  which  these  themes 
were  drawn,  and  the  influence,  if  any,  which  such  performances  had 
upon  the  regular  English  drama,  it  will  be  the  object  of  the  pre- 
sent study  to  determine. 

In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  the  mask  shows  the  same  diver- 
sity in  subject-matter  as  does  the  regular  drama,  and  draws  its 
material  from  the  same  sources.  Of  the  mask  poems  left  by  Lyd- 
gate, one  is  a  pure  allegory, — a  morality  in  monologue, — another 
is  the  allegorical  presentation  of  a  theme  drawn  from  romantic 
sources,  two  others  use  the  materials  of  classic  mythology,  a  fifth 

Brotanek,  Die  Englischen  Maskenspiele,  pp.  115-127;  Reyher,  Lcs  Masques  Anglais, 
pp.  13-28;  J.  W.  Cunliffe,  "Italian  Prototvpes  of  the  Masque  and  Dumb  Show," 
Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Ass.,  1907  (N.  S.  15),  pp.  140-56;  Scherm,  "Englischc  Hofmaskera- 
den,"  Studien  zur  Vergleichenden  Literaturegeschichte,  9,  406-27. 

*  Five  of  the  six  mask  pieces  of  Lydgate  are  to  be  found  in  Brotanek,  pp.  305-325; 
the  other  has  been  reprinted  by  Miss  Hammond  in  Anglia,  XXII,  364  ff. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  3 

presents  biblical  scenes  and  characters,  while  the  sixth  is  the  elab- 
oration of  an  idea  drawn  from  popular  literature.  Here  we  have  an 
exact  parallel  of  the  several  types  of  the  regular  drama,  and  some- 
thing of  the  same  variety  continues  to  mark  the  mask  until  the 
close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  There  is  one  circumstance,  how- 
ever, which  helped  to  determine  the  general  type  of  theme  usually 
employed  in  the  mask.  Having  its  origin  in  royal  fondness  for 
gorgeous  ceremonial  and  display,  this  species  of  dramatic  activity 
remained  throughout  its  history  in  close  association  with  the  life 
of  the  court.  A  majority  of  the  masks  produced  in  England  before 
the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  not  undertaken  merely  as 
ends  in  themselves,  but  were  used  to  introduce  dances,  tourna- 
ments, and  other  forms  of  court  entertainment.  It  was  always 
primarily  an  occasional  performance;  and  its  functional  character 
set  rather  narrow  limits  to  the  subject-matter  which  it  might 
employ.  The  social  and  festive  purposes  which  it  was  designed 
to  serve  called  usually  for  matters  of  love  and  gallantry.  Depend- 
ing largely  upon  symbolism  and  pantomime  to  express  its  meaning, 
it  required  a  theme  at  once  simple  and  striking;  its  fundamental 
conception  had  to  be  readily  intelligible,  and  yet  afford  opportunity 
for  the  necessary  scenic  display.  All  these  needs  were  admirably 
served  by  the  romantic  literature  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  it  was 
to  the  achievements  of  knightly  heroes,  the  ceremonials  of  chivalry, 
and  the  ideals  and  sentiments  of  courtly  love  that  the  devisers  of 
the  early  mask  and  court  pageant  most  frequently  turned  for  the 
ideas  which  they  sought  to  embody  in  these  pantomimic  exhibitions. 
The  romantic  allegories  which  grew  up  around  that  unique 
mediaeval  institution  known  as  the  court  of  love  were  particularly 
adapted  to  such  treatment.  Their  personified  abstractions  lent 
themselves  readily  to  symbolical  representation  under  the  figures  of 
chivalry;  and  their  motives  furnished  a  convenient  framework 
for  the  essential  elements  of  pageantry  and  splendor.  The  various 
emotional  states  allied  to  the  passion  of  love,  when  classified  and 
labelled  according  to  the  approved  mediaeval  fashion,  furnish  a 
large  number  of  valiant  knights  and  fair  ladies  who  move  in  the 
train  of  Venus  and  swear  fealty  to  her  laws.  It  is  they  who  become 
the  familiar  dramatis  personae  of  much  of  the  early  mask  poetry 
of  the  English  court.  Bien-Coler,  Bel  Acueil,  and  Dous  Regart  are 
to  the  court  entertainment  what  their  soberer  kindred  of  the  family 
of  Fides,  Spes,  and  Caritas  are  to  the  moraHty. 


4  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

This  particular  type  of  symbolic  literature  was  very  volumi- 
nous, and  extended  over  a  period  of  several  centuries.  ^  Traces 
of  its  influence  are  discernible,  in  fact,  until  long  after  the  victory 
of  the  modern  spirit  which  brought  in  the  Renaissance.  Its  char- 
acteristics, motives,  and  conventions  may  be  adequately  studied, 
however,  in  its  most  important  single  representative,  the  Roman 
de  la  Rose;  and  it  is  the  influence  of  this  stupendous  work  which 
no  doubt  accounts  in  a  large  measure  for  the  popularity  of  romantic 
allegory  in  England  during  the  fourteenth,  fifteenth  and  early 
sixteenth  centuries. 

Lydgate  makes  specific  acknowledgement  of  his  indebtedness 
to  the  Roman  de  la  Rose  in  his  mask  of  Fortune  and  the  Four  Virtues.^ 
"So  here  foloweth,"  he  says,  by  way  of  introduction,  ''the  devyse 
of  a  desguysing  tofore  the  gret  estates  of  this  land  then  being  at 
London,  made  by  Lidegate  daun  Johan,  the  munk  of  Bury.  Of 
dame  fortune,  dame  prudence,  dame  Rightwysnesse,  and  dame 
fortitudo.  Beholdethe,  for  it  is  moral,  pleasant,  and  notable. 
So  first  Cometh  in  dame  fortune. 

Lo  here  this  lady  yee  may  see, 
Lady  of  mutabilytee; 
Which  calleth  is  Fortune, 
Of  seelde  in  con  she  doth  contune, 
For  she  hathe  a  double  face, 
Right  so  every  houre  and  space 
Sche  chaungeth  hir  condycyouns 
Ay  full  of  transmutatycions, 
Lyche  as  the  Romans  of  the  Rose 
Descryveth  hir,  withouten  glose, 
And  teUethe  pleyne,  how  that  she 
Hath  hir  dwelling  in  the  see. " 

Lydgate's  characterization  of  this  "Lady  of  Mutability"  is 
the  conventional  one  given  in  Le  Roman  de  la  Rose''  and  elsewhere 
in  mediaeval  literature.  Her  house,  which  stands  upon  an  island 
in  the  sea,  is  so  built  that  one  side  displays  every  beauty,  but  the 

^  On  the  origin  of  allegory,  its  popularity  during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  two 
sources,  pagan  and  Christian,  from  which  the  court  of  love  literature  drew  its  symbol- 
ism, see  Neilson,  Origins  and  Sources  of  the  Court  of  Love,  (Harvard  Notes  and  Studies, 
Vol.  6.)  p.  8  ff.  For  a  less  higUy  specialized  discussion  of  the  rise  of  modern  allegory, 
see  Courthope,  History  of  Eng.  Poetry,  Vol.  I,  p.  341  fif. 

«  Brotanek,  pp.  309-16. 

'  Cf.  U.  6657  ff. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  5 

Other  is  "ebylt  in  ougly  wise"  and  "ay  in  pointe  to  falle  doun." 
At  irregular  intervals  and  always  unexpectedly,  there  comes  a 
flood,  which  deluges  every  thing. ^  She  herself  is  as  unstable  as 
her  house.  To-day  she  lavishes  favors  on  man;  tomorrow  she  over- 
whelms him  with  calamity.  Her  vagaries  with  famous  men  of 
history  are  related, — how  she  made  dupes  of  Caesar,  Alexander, 
Croesus,  and  others,  and  how  her  promises,  no  matter  how  fair 
and  alluring,  are  in  no  case  to  be  trusted.  The  four  virtues  are 
in  their  turn  given  a  similar  allegorical  characterization.^ 

Disquisitions  upon  the  fickleness  of  fortune  were  very  common 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  and  appear  to  have  been  a  sort  of  liter- 
ary tradition  inherited  from  classical  literature.  They  are  a 
characteristic  of  the  group  of  mediaeval  romances  which  have  a 
more  or  less  definite  eastern  affiliation, — the  group  of  which  Floris 
and  Blauncheflur  may  be  taken  as  an  example.  About  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century  a  certain  Simon  de  Freine,  canonicus  at  Here- 
ford, composed  a  Roman  de  la  Fortune,  a  sort  of  free  adaptation 
of  Boethius's  Consolatio  Philosophiae.^^  The  whole  is  in  the  form 
of  a  dialogue  between  a  clerk  and  a  personification  of  Philosophy. 
The  clerk  denounces,  while  Philosophy  defends,  the  fickle  goddess. 

What  form  of  symbolism  Lydgate  employed  to  represent 
objectively  the  "  transmutacyouns "  of  Fortune,  we  do  not  know, 
though  doubtless  it  was  some  naive  conception  of  which  the  accom- 
panying text  was  intended  as  an  interpretation.  The  results  which 
followed  similar  efforts  on  other  occasions  were  often  fantastic 
and  highly  amusing.  Tradition  described  Fortune  as  without 
feet  and  as  having  a  double  face.  Dramatic  allegory  therefore 
seized  readily  upon  such  striking  characteristics.  In  a  procession 
which  welcomed  Alfonso  the  Great  upon  his  entrance  into  Naples, 
in  1443,  Fortune  was  represented  by  a  lady  in  a  chariot,  accom- 
panied by  twelve  young  knights.  The  goddess  herself  wore  hair 
only  on  the  front  part  of  her  head,  the  back  part  being  shaved,  to 
represent   the  second  face.     Her  fugitive  character  was  further 

'  Most  of  the  details  mentioned  by  Lydgate  occur  also  in  the  House  of  Fortune 
in  the  Anticlaiidianiis  of  Alanus  de  Insulis  (VIII,  1,  T.  Wright,  Anglo-Latin  Satirical 
Poems,  VI,  268  ff.),  which  is  described  as  receiving  alternately  the  breath  of  Zephrj-us 
and  the  blasts  of  Boreas. 

*  The  date  of  this  mask  is  not  known,  but  the  reference  in  line  267  places  it  some- 
where in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI. 

'"Cf.  Karl  Voretzsch,  Altfraniosische  Litcratitr,  Halle,  1913,  p.  148. 


6  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

symbolized  by  a  special  genius  who  sat  upon  the  lower  steps  of  the 
car,  and  who  had  his  feet  immersed  in  a  basin  of  water.  ^^  Petit  de 
Julleville  describes  an  odd  device  employed  for  a  similar  purpose 
in  the  French  morality  Bleu  Avise,  Mai  Avise:^^  "Un  des  tableaux 
les  plus  curieux  de  cette  moralite  est  celui  oii  Bien  Avise  etait  admis 
a  contempler  la  roue  de  la  Fortune.  On  voyait  la  Fortune  mon- 
trant  un  double  visage  aux  hommes,  I'un  riant,  I'autre  affreux. 
Sur  la  roue  qu'elle  fait  tourner,  quatre  hommes  sont  attaches, 
qui  lui  servent  de  jouets,  partes  de  bas  en  haut  et  de  haut  en  bas 
par  le  perpetuel  mouvement.  Le  premier  s'appelle  Regnaho; 
le  second  Regno;  le  troisieme  Regnavi;  le  quatrieme  Su?n  sine  regno. 
Les  quatre  formules  composent  ensemble  un  vers  hexametre: 
"Je  regnerai,  je  regne,  j'ai  regne,  je  suis  sans  royaume."  Ainsi 
sont  personnifiees  les  vicissitudes  de  la  grandeur.  "^^ 

One  of  the  earliest  Enghsh  court  masks  of  which  a  full  account 
has  reached  us  is  the  "  desguisinge "  held  in  connection  with  the 
festivities  accompanying  the  marriage  of  Prince  Arthur  and  Cathe- 
rine of  Arragon,  in  1501.^*  The  motives  and  devices  which  it  em- 
ployed became  the  stock  material  for  similar  performances  through- 
out the  sixteenth  century.  For  this  reason,  and  because  of  the 
fact  that  it  used  abundantly  the  matter  and  symbols  of  the  roman- 
tic allegories  which  developed  arouad  the  court  of  love  idea,  it  is 
worthy  of  being  examined  in  some  detail.  The  contemporary 
description  reads  in  part  as  follows:  ''Then  began  and  entered  the 
most  goodly  and  pleasant  disguising,  convayed  and  showed  in 
pageants  proper  and  subtle;  of  whom  the  first  was  a  castle  right 
cunningly  devised,  sett  upon  certaine  wheels,  and  drawne  into  the 
saide  gret  hall  of  fower  great  beasts  with  chains  of  gold  .  .  .  There 
were  within  the  same  Castle  disguised  viij  goodly  and  fresh  ladyes 
looking  out  of  the  windowes  of  the  same,  and  in  the  foure  corners 
of  the  Castle  were  iiij  turrets  ...  in  the  which  of  every  one 
.  .  .  was  a  Httle  child  appareled  like  a  maiden.  And  so  all  the 
four  children  singing  most  sweetly  and  harmoniously  in  all  the 

"  Cf.  Burckhardt,  The  Civilisation  of  the  Renaissance  in  Italy,  Stuttgart,  1868, 
p.  421. 

1=  Le  Mistere  du  Bien  advise  el  Mai  advise,  Imprime  a  Paris,  par  Pierre  le  Caron 
pour  Anthoine  Verard. 

"  Repertoire  du  Theatre  Comique  en  France  an  Moyen-Age,  Paris,  1886,  pp.  39-41. 

"  Described  in  MS.  Harl.  no.  69,  printed  in  The  Shakespeare  Society  Papers,  I, 
47,  and  also  by  Collier  (History  of  English  Dramatic  Poetry,  I,  58). 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  7 

coming  the  length  of  the  hall  till  they  came  before  the  K.  Ma^"" 
.  .  The  second  Pageant  was  a  shippe  in  likewise  sett  upon 
wheels  without  any  leaders  in  sight,  in  right  goodly  apparell, 
having  her  mast-toppes,  sayles,  and  her  tackling,  and  all  the 
appurtenances  necessary  unto  a  seemly  vessel  .  .  .  until  they 
came  before  the  King  somewhat  beside  the  Castle  .  .  .  And  out 
from  the  saide  shippe  descended  down  by  a  ladder  two  well  beseane 
and  goodly  persons  calling  themselves  Hope  and  Despair,  passing 
toward  the  rehearsed  Castle  with  their  banners,  in  manner  and 
form  as  Ambassadors  from  the  Knights  of  the  Mount  of  Love  unto 
the  ladyes  within  the  Castle  .  .  .  making  their  means  and  en- 
treates  as  wooers  and  breakers  of  the  matters  of  love  between  the 
K.  and  the  L.  The  said  ladyes  gave  their  small  aunsweare  of 
utterly  refuse,  and  knowledge  of  any  such  company  .  .  .  and 
plainly  denyed  their  purpose  and  desire.  The  said  two  Embassa- 
dors therewith  taking  great  displeasure,  showed  the  said  L. 
that  the  K.  would  for  this  unkind  refusall  make  battayle  and 
assault  ...  to  them  and  their  Castle,  so  that  it  should  be  grie- 
vous to  abide  their  power  and  malice. 

"Incontinent  came  in  the  third  Pageant  in  liknesse  of  a  great 
hill,  or  mountain,  in  whom  there  was  enclosed  viij  Knights  .  .  . 
naming  themselves  K.  of  the  Mount  of  Love  .  .  .  And  the  two 
Embassadors  departed  toward  the  Knights,  being  within  the 
Mount,  showing  the  disdain  and  refusall  with  the  whole  circum- 
stance of  the  same.  So  as  they  therewith  not  being  content  .  .  . 
went  a  Httle  from  the  said  mount,  their  banners  being  displayed, 
and  hastily  sped  them  to  the  rehearsed  Castle,  which  they  assaulted 
so  and  in  such  wise,  that  the  Ladies,  yielding  themselves,  descended 
.  .  .  and  submitted  themselves  to  the  power,  grace  and  will  of 
those  noble  Knights  .  .  .  and  daunced  together  many  divers 
and  goodly  daunces^-^  ..." 

The  Httle  bit  of  romantic  drama  underlying  all  this  pageantry 
is  conceived  with  characteristic  naivete.  The  whole  is  not  so 
much  a  representation  of  any  particular  court  of  love  material  as 
a  free  adaptation,  to  the  purpose  in  hand,  of  its  conventional 
symbolism  and  allegory.  The  simplicity  of  the  idea  commends  it; 
for  symboHc  pageants,  even  when  "proper  and  subtle,"  are  not 
the  most  effectual  means  of  refining  upon  and  elaborating  a  partic- 
ular theme.     What  we  really  have  here  is   the   earliest   recorded 

"  Loc.  cit. 


8  ROMANTIC  DRAIVLV  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

instance  at  the  English  Court  of  the  attack  upon  the  Castle  of 
Beauty  by  the  Knights  of  Love,  a  performance  that  was  repeated  so 
often  during  the  ensuing  century  that  we  are  struck  by  the  apparent 
lack  of  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  those  whose  business  it  was  to 
supervise  the  royal  festivities.  The  truth  is  that  both  the  theme 
and  the  symbols  by  which  it  was  presented  are  matters  of  remote 
tradition,  and  are  associated  with  important  elements  in  the 
history  of  human  culture.  The  ship,  the  mount,  and  the  castle; — 
since  they  are  the  devices  about  which  much  of  the  Court  pageantry 
of  the  next  hundred  years  is  to  be  grouped,  it  seems  worth  while 
to  inquire  briefly  into  their  origin. 

The  ship,  in  particular,  is  a  figure  of  great  antiquity  as  a  s}Tnbol 
and  a  decorative  nucleus.  It  was  originally,  perhaps,  the  Ship 
of  Isis,  which  was  launched  upon  the  Nile  every  year  on  the  fifth  of 
March,  as  a  symbol  that  navigation  had  been  reopened.^^  As 
a  dry-land  car  it  appeared  in  the  processions  of  the  spring  festi- 
vals among  various  pagan  peoples,  especially  in  maritime  districts. ^^ 
Its  original  significance  appears  in  its  substitution  for  the  plough  in 
the  Plow  Monday  processions  of  the  sea-coast  towns  of  southwes- 
tern England.^^  The  possibilities  which  it  offered  for  splendid  and 
striking  scenic  display  were  early  recognized.  As  the  carrus  nava- 
lis,  sometimes  more  specifically  as  the  car  of  Neptune,  it  was  a  pro- 
minent figure  in  the  shows  and  pageants  that  passed  through  the 
streets  of  ancient  Rome.^^  Having  lost  its  original  significance,  it 
became  simply  an  object  of  gorgeous  and  splendid  pageantry,  and  in 
this  capacity  it  continued  to  deHght  the  eyes  of  beholders  for  many 
centuries.  It  appears  conspicuously  in  the  odd  mixture  of  sacred 
and  secular  elements  which  made  up  the  Corpus  Christi  Pag- 
eants and  other  ecclesiastical  processions  of  the  Middle  Ages.^'' 
In  this  connection  indeed  it  may  have  retained  something 
of  its  original  pagan  religious  significance. ^^  As  it  brought  the 
ambassadors  from  the  Mount  of  Love  to  the  Castle  of  Beauty, 
in  the  Tudor  Court  pageant,  so,  in  the  religious  processions,  it 
brought  the  saint,  with  his  retinue  from  afar  to  participate  in  the 

"  Burckhardt,  Civilisation  of  the  Renaissance  in  Italy,  p.  419. 
"  Cf.  Grimm,  Deutsche  Mythologie. 

isCf.  Chambers,  Mediaeval  Stage,  I,  121.     It  was  so  used  at    IMinehead,    Ply- 
mouth and  Deavenport,  in  the  west  of  England  and  also  at  Hull,  in  the  north. 
"  Burckhardt,  p.  419. 

2"  Cf.   Burckhardt,   Geschichte  der  Renaissance  in  Italien,  pp.   320-332. 
^'  Cf.  Grimm,  Deutsche  Mythologie. 


ROIVLANIIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  IVIASK  9 

local  celebrations.-^  Gorgeously  decorated  ships  appeared  in 
regular  flotillas  in  the  "Trionfo,"  the  Carnival,  and  other  semi- 
religious  festival  processions  of  mediaeval  Italy,  and,  as  would 
naturally  be  expected,  in  the  numerous  pageants  arranged  by  the 
courts  and  burghers  throughout  Europe.  When  Duke  Borso 
came  in  1453  to  Reggio  to  receive  the  homage  of  the  city,  he  was 
shown,  among  other  things,  a  colossal  car  in  the  form  of  a  ship, 
moved  by  men  concealed  within  it.-^  When  Isabella  of  England 
came  to  the  continent  to  become  the  bride  of  the  Emperor  Fred- 
erick II,  she  was  met  at  Cologne  by  a  whole  flotilla  of  such  chariots, 
drawn  by  concealed  horses  and  filled  with  priests  in  fantastic 
costume,  who  welcomed  her  with  music  and  singing."^"  In  the  case 
of  the  civic  pageants  it  was  usually  deemed  more  fitting  to  assign 
the  preparation  and  control  of  the  ship  to  the  guild  whose  occupation 
was  most  closely  alhed  with  the  sea.  Thus  it  usually  fell  to  the 
fish-mongers.  It  was  these  tradesmen  who,  on  the  birth  of  Edward 
III  of  England  in  1313,  went  to  Westminster  with  a  ship  in  full 
sail  and  escorted  the  Queen  on  her  way  to  Eltham.^^ 

Doubtless  the  most  famous  of  all  the  civic  pageants  of  Europe 
was  "den  grooten  Ommeganck"  maintained  by  the  various  trade 
guilds  of  the  City  of  Antwerp  and  exhibited  there  on  important 
occasions  for  several  centuries.  The  most  interesting  account 
that  has  reached  us  from  an  eyewitness  of  this  famous  pageant  is 
that  of  Albert  Durer,  in  the  narrative  of  his  travels  in  the  Low 
Countries  in  1520.-^  In  view  of  the  commercial  importance  of  the 
city,  the  ship  pageants  appearing  in  the  procession  are  said  to  have 
been  extraordinarily  elaborate.  The  "Ommeganck"  was  revived 
as  late  as  1803,  upon  the  occasion  of  Napoleon's  visit  to  Antwerp; 
and  for  the  entertainment  of  the  famous  guest,  various  pageants 
were  devised,  one  of  which  was  a  warship  of  colossal  proportions, 
fully  rigged  and  manned  as  if  for  battle,  and  having  fifers  and 
drummers  on  board,  with  men  in  the  yards  and  top-castles." 

2-"Ein  Haupteffekt  aber  war  das  Schiff  mitder  heiligen  Ursula  und  ihren  Jung- 
frauen,  das  namentlich  in  den  Aufzcichnungen  uber  die  Freiburger  Frohleichnams- 
aufziige  eine  grosse  Rolle  spielt." — Criezenach,  Gcschichic  dcs  neuercn  Dramas,  I.  189. 

23  Burckhardt,  p.  418,  citing  Annales  Estens,  in  Murat  XX.  col.  486  ff. 

^  Schultz,  Hofisches  Leben,  I,  620-21. 

^  Chambers,  Mediaeval  Stage,  II,  167. 

^An  account  of  this  celebrated  pageant  may  be  found  in  the  Introduction  to 
Fairholt's  Lord  Mayors'  Pageants  (Percy  Society,  X),  pp.  9  ff. 

2'  Fairholt,  loc.  cit. 


10  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

The  permanency  of  the  ship  as  a  decorative  and  symbolic 
figure  of  the  Lord  Mayors'  Pageants  in  London  is  suggested  by  a 
speech  of  the  dissolute  apprentice  Spendall,  a  character  in  the 
play  known  as  ''Green's  Tu  Quoque."  "By  this  light,"  he  says, 
"I  do  not  think  but  to  be  Lord  Mayor  of  London  before  I  die,  and 
have  three  pageants  carried  before  me,  besides  a  ship  and  an  uni- 
corn. "^^  And  in  such  of  these  civic  parades  as  found  their  way  into 
history  the  ship  was  seldom  lacking  .^^ 

What  is  probably  a  survival  of  the  association  of  the  dry  land 
ship  with  the  spring  festival  of  remote  periods  is  seen  in  an  odd  bit 
of  allegorical  fiction  which  served  as  a  prelude  to  a  tournament 
held  by  Henry  VIII  in  the  second  year  of  his  reign.  In  the  quaint 
language  of  Hall  it  is  described  as  follows:  "The  first  daye  of 
Maye  the  ICinge  accompaigned  with  many  lusty  Bachelers,  on 
grete  and  well  doinge  horses,  rode  to  the  wodde  to  fetch  Maye  .  .  . 
and  as  they  were  returning  on  the  Hill,  mete  with  them  a  shippe 
under  sail.  The  master  hayled  the  Kinge  and  that  noble  com- 
paignie,  and  said  that  he  was  a  Maryner,  and  was  come  from  many  a 
strange  porte,  and  came  hither  to  se  if  dedes  of  arms  were  to  be 
done  in  the  country.^''  .  .  .  An  Heraulde  demanded  the  name  of  his 
shippe,  he  aunswered,  she  is  called  Fame  and  is  laden  with  good 
Renoune.  Then  said  the  Heraulde,  if  you  will  bring  your  shippe 
into  the  bay  of  Hardines  you  must  double  the  point  of  Gentlenes  and 
there  you  shall  se  a  compagnie  that  shall  medle  with  your  merchan- 
dise. Then  sayd  the  King,  sythen  Renoune  is  their  merchaundise 
let  us  bye  it  and  we  can:  Then  the  shippe  shotte  a  peale  of  Gonnes, 
and  sailed  forth  before  the  Kinges  compagnie,  ful  of  flagges  and 
banners  til  it  came  to  the  tilte  yarde.  "^^     That  afternoon  the  sports 

''^  Fairholt,  Lord  May or^s  Pageants,  p.  I 

2' In  Anthony  Munday's  Pageant  of  1605  there  was  a  "Shippe  called  the  Royall 
Exchange"  (Fairholt  p.  30);  in  that  devised  by  Middleton,  in  1613,  a  ship  sailed  down 
Cheapside  carrying  the  King  of  the  Moors  and  his  retinue  (p.  35);  in  1615  Munday 
appears  once  more  with  "a  faire  and  beautiful  shippe  .  .  .  stiled  Joell  (a  play  upon  the 
Lord  Mayor's  name)  attended  by  Neptune  and  the  Thames"  (p.  39);  the  ship  in  the 
1616  Pageant  was  named  the  Fishermongers'  Esperanza,  etc.  (p.  41).  Numerous  other 
similar  pageants  are  recorded. 

^^  The  parties  to  the  contest  which  usually  marked  the  Carnival,  or  Shrove  Tuesday 
revelry,  sometimes  appeared  upon  the  scene  in  ships,  as  if  from  a  far  country.  Cf. 
Burckhardt,  Gesch.  der  Ren,  p.  326. 

'•  Hall,  Chronicle,  containing  the  History  of  England  during  the  Reign   of  Henry 
IV  afid  the  Succeeding  Monarch,  etc.,  p.  467     In  the  Middle  High  German  verse 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  11 

began  and  lasted  for  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  "the 
Queene  made  a  greate  banket  to  the  King  and  all  of  them  that 
had  Justed:  and  after  the  banket  done  she  gave  the  chefe  price 
to  the  King.  "^^ 

Returning  to  the  other  principal  figures  in  the  "disguising"  of 
1501,  the  "mount"  and  the  castle,  we  find  that,  like  the  ship, 
they  too  were  thoroughly  conventional  devices  of  mediaeval  alle- 
gory and  pageantry.  Besides  their  allegorical  function,  these 
figures  were  utilized  as  a  convenient  means  of  presenting  the  dancers 
and  actors  in  these  pantomimic  dramas  before  the  audience  in  a 
striking  and  picturesque  manner.  They  served  as  decorated  cars, 
drawn  by  strange  animals  or  by  wild  men^^  ("wodwoses"),  and  the 
performers  generally  remained  concealed  in  them  until  the  desired 
point  was  reached,  when  they  suddenly  emerged  before  the  star- 
tled beholders.  Today  we  are  inchned  to  laugh  at  the  incon- 
gruities involved  in  a  moving  mountain  and  castle,  or  a  ship  passing 
in  full  sail  down  the  city  streets,  but  the  allegorical  sense  which 
they  were  supposed  to  convey  raised  them  slightly  above  the  level 
of  mere  fantastic  absurdities.  Under  this  restraint  they  were 
usually  so  contrived  as  to  show  some  degree  of  artistic  or  poetic 
feehng.^^ 

romance,  Moriz  von  Craon,  there  is  an  interesting  parallel  to  the  romantic  frame- 
work of  this  tournament, — the  expedition  of  IMoriz  to  the  chateau  of  the  Countess 
of  Beaumont.  For  the  delight  of  the  Countess  he  caused  a  magnificent  ship  to  be 
built,  complete  in  every  detail.  The  cable-ropes  were  of  red  silk,  and  a  massive 
golden  anchor  hung  from  the  stern.  The  sails  were  silken  banners  bearing  the  mottoes 
and  devices  of  the  accompanying  knights.  Loading  it  with  armor,  lances,  and  other 
equipment  necessar>'  for  a  tournament,  and  hitching  on  horses,  concealed  beneath  the 
drapery,  he  moved  majestically  through  France  until  he  came  to  the  Castle  of  Beau- 
mont, where  he  fought  a  grand  tournament  with  the  knights  of  the  castle,  finally  pre- 
senting the  car  with  all  its  furnishings  to  the  Countess.  Cf.  Moriz  von  Craon,  cd.  by 
M.  Haupt,  621-1080.  A  later  edition  by  Edward  Schroder  (Berlin,  1894)  is  interest- 
ingly reviewed  by  Gaston  Paris,  Romania,  23,  466  ff. 

^^  Persons  clothed  in  the  traditional  green  to  represent  Robin  Hood's  foresters 
often  preceded  these  pageants.  The  accounts  of  the  various  guilds  which  had  charge 
of  the  Lord  Mayors'  pageants  during  the  17th  century  contain  numerous  entries  of 
money  paid  to  the  "green  men." 

''  Extravagances,  however,  were  not  wanting.  Sometimes  gigantic  animals  were 
contrived,  out  of  which  a  nimiber  of  masked  figures  suddenly  emerged,  as  at  Siena, 
in  1465,  when  at  a  public  reception  a  ballet  of  twelve  persons  come  of  a  golden  wolf. 
Cf.  Burckhardt,  Renaissance  in  Italy,  p.  415. 


12  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

There  appears  to  be  no  strict  original  in  the  court  of  love  ro- 
mances for  the  "Mount  of  Love"  in  the  sense  in  which  it  appears 
in  the  Tudor  mask  of  1501  and  the  other  similar  ones  that  fol- 
lowed it.  One  naturally  suspects  that  the  association  lies  ulti- 
mately with  the  name  Venusberg  and  the  various  traditions  which 
linked  the  subterranean  palace  of  perpetual  delights  over  which 
the  goddess  presided  with  particular  mountains.^'*  It  is  true 
that  in  none  of  the  versions  of  this  legend  is  there  intentional  alle- 
gory, though  the  delights  of  the  underground  palace  are  in  general 
those  of  the  allegorical  castle  of  love.  At  any  rate,  with  the  exam- 
ple of  innumerable  castles,  towers,  pavilions  and  gardens  of  love 
before  him,  the  artist  of  the  Tudor  pageant  could  hardly  have 
claimed  much  originality  for  his  conception. 

The  "mount,"  with  its  gorgeous  decorations  and  obscure 
symbolism  remained  a  favorite  piece  of  pageantry  at  the  Tudor 
court  until  near  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Sometimes 
mere  gorgeousness  seems  to  have  been  the  only  end  sought,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  pageant  called  "The  Ryche  Mount,"  prepared 
under  the  direction  of  Sir  Harry  Guilford  for  the  feast  of  the  Epi- 
phany in  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.^^  The  pageant 
was  drawn  by  two  "mighty  woodwossys, "  or  wild  men,  and  con- 
sisted of  a  mountain  of  gold  and  precious  stones  "set  with  herbs 
of  various  kinds,  and  planted  with  broom  to  signify  Plantagenet, 
and  also  with  red  and  white  roses;  on  the  top  a  burning  beacon; 
on  the  sides  fleurs  de  lis. " 

A  somewhat  similar  pageant,  designed  for  the  edification  of  the 
French  ambassadors  to  the  English  Court,  is  described  by  Hall 
as  having  been  exhibited  on  May  5,  1528.  "All  that  day  were  the 
straungers  feasted,  and  at  night  they  were  brought  into  the  hall, 
where  was  a  rock  full  of  al  maner  of  stones,  very  artificially  made 
...  In  and  upon  the  middes  of  the  Rock  sate  a  fayre  lady  richly 
appareled  with  a  Dolphin  in  her  lap.  In  this  rock  were  ladies  and 
gentlemen  .  .  .  and  out  of  the  cave  in  the  said  Rock  came  X 
Knightes,  armed  at  all  pointes,  and  foughte  together  a  fayre  tour- 
nay.     And  when  they  were  severed  and  departed,  the  desguisers 

^  These  traditions  finally  assumed  a  form  corresponding  in  general  to  the  modern 
Tannhauser  legend;  ci.  NeTlson,  Origins  and  Sources  of  the  Court  of  Love,  pp.  133-35. 
For  the  early  German  version  of  the  Venusberg  see  Grimm,  Deutsche  Mythologie,  ed. 
Meyer,  1878,  II,  780,  882. 

35  Letters  and  Papers  of  Henry  VIII,  ed.  by  Gairdner  II,  1499. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  13 

descended  from  the  rock  and  daunced  a  great  space.  .  .  .  Then 
entered  a  person  called  Reaport  appareled  in  Crymson  satyn 
full  of  tonges  setting  on  a  flying  horse  .  .  .  called  Pegasus.  This 
person  in  Frenche  declared  the  meaning  of  the  Rock  and  the  trees 
at  the  Tournay.  "^^  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  chronicler  did 
not  think  it  worth  while  to  record  this  explanation. 

Other  pageants  in  the  form  of  gorgeously  decorated  "mounts" 
and  possessing  some  recondite  allegorical  significance  which  cannot 
now  be  determined  were  exhibited  at  various  times  during  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII"  Sometimes  it  was  classical  mythology 
instead  of  allegory  which  underlay  the  conception.  In  the  procession 
that  conveyed  Anne  Boleyn  through  London  on  her  way  to  the 
Tower  for  the  Coronation  ceremonies,  "there  was  the  mounte 
Pernassus  with  the  fountayne  of  HeHcon,  which  was  of  white 
marble  ...  On  the  mountain  satte  Apollo  and  at  his  feete  sat 
Calhope,  and  on  every  side  of  the  mountain  satte  iiii  Muses  plaiy- 
ing  on  several  swete  instruments."^'^ 

Some  idea  of  the  elaborateness  with  which  these  pageants 
were  prepared  may  be  obtained  from  a  glance  into  the  account 
books  of  those  court  officials  who  were  entrusted  with  their  pre- 
paration. Thus  for  the  festivities  at  the  coronation  of  Edward  VI 
a  "mount,"  which  may  have  been  one  of  those  used  in  some  of 
the  early  pageantry  of  Henry  VIII, ^^  was  taken  from  the  store- 
house of  the  Revels  and  employed  twice,  once  in  some  unexplained 
connection  at  the  Sanctuary  in  Westminster  and  again  at  Whitehall 
for  a  representation  of  the  story  of  Orpheus.'"'    These  operations, 

^  Chronicle,  595. 

"  Cf.  Hall,  Chronicle,  723,  and  Letters  and  Papas  of  Henry  VIII,  II,  1494. 

'«Hall,  Chronicle,  p.  801.  The  "Mount  of  Parnassus"  appeared  also  in  "den 
grooten  Ommeganck"  of  Antwerp  (Cf.  Fairholt,  p.  xxvii).  In  the  Lord  Mayor's 
Pageant  of  1620,  called  "The  Triumph  of  Peace,"  there  was  represented  "Pernassus 
Mount, "  with  the  Nine  Muses  and  Mercury.  The  "  maine  pageant "  of  this  procession, 
however,  was  a  "mount  where  St.  Catherine  sat,"  attended  by  twelve  maids  of  honor 
(Fairholt,  p.  48).  In  one  of  Munday's  early  pageants,  Corinus  and  Gogmagog,  two 
huge  giants,  were,  "for  the  more  grace  and  beauty  of  the  show,"  fettered  with  chains 
of  gold  to  "Britain's  Mount"  (Fairholt,  p.  30).  In  the  Pageant  of  1623,  devised  by 
Middleton,  appeared  "Mount  Royal,"  upon  which  were  placed  "six  kings  and  great 
commanders,  that  were  originally  sprung  from  shepherds  and  humble  beginnings" 
(Fairholt,  50). 

^'  Cf.  Kempe,  Loseley  Manuscripts,  74. 

*"  The  account  rolls  bearing  upon  the  preparation  and  the  employment  of  this 
mount  are  printed  by  Feuillerat,  Documents  relating  to  the  Office  of  the  Revels  during 
the  Reigns  of  Edward  VI  and  Mary,  p.  3,  pp.  6-8  and  notes. 


14  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

together  with  the  necessary  repairs  upon  the  "mount,"  required 
the  services  of  twenty-seven  carpenters  and  joiners,  most  of  them 
working  for  periods  of  ten  to  fifteen  days  and  for  half  as  many 
nights;  so  that  for  this  apparatus  alone  we  read,  "Summa  of  all 
the  Charges  of  the  Mounte  .   .   .  xxxiiif  viij' j'^ : "  "^ 

For  the  castle  and  the  attack  upon  it  by  the  Knights  of  the 
Mount  of  Love,  as  represented  in  the  disguising  of  1501,^^  there 
are  innumerable  parallels  both  in  the  romantic  love  allegories  of 
the  Middle  Ages  and  in  the  many  symbolical  narratives  of  didac- 
tic literature.  In  view  of  its  wide-spread  use,  it  may  perhaps 
be  worth  while  to  summarize  briefly  the  development  of  the  castle 
allegory/^  In  early  patristic  hterature  it  soon  became  a  conven- 
tion to  represent  the  contest  between  Virtue  and  Vice  under  the 
symbols  of  battle  and  siege.^^  Thus  in  an  early  and  typical  exam- 
ple^^  a  certain  king  assigns  to  his  three  daughters.  Fides,  Spes, 
and  Caritas,  the  guardianship  of  the  town  of  Mansoul.  For  the 
defence  of  this  town  there  are  three  castles,  Rationabilitas,  Con- 
cupiscibilitas,  and  Irascibilitas.  Each  of  the  daughters  is  put 
in  charge  of  a  castle  and  given  certain  attendants,  with  such  names 
names  as  Prudentia,  Patientia,  Sobrietas,  Discretio,  etc.,  to  aid 
in  the  defence  of  it.  The  adversary  in  command  of  the  army  of 
Wickedness  attempts  to  capture  the  city  by  assaulting  the  castles, 
but  is  finally  beaten  off  by  the  army  of  Virtues.  About  this  figure 
of  mediaeval  warfare  didactic  allegory  established  itself  firmly, 
and  finally  came  to  include  among  its  symbols  most  of  the  promi- 
ment  characteristics  of  feudal  society.  Personified  moral  and 
spiritual  qualities  contended  upon  the  battlefield  and  in  the  tour- 
nament with  their  corresponding  adversaries  in  the  categories  of 
vice  and  wickedness.     The  figure  of  the  castle  was  elaborately 

"Feuillerat,  p.  8.  The  lasting  popularity  of  the  "Mount"  in  Tudor  Court 
masks  is  seen  in  the  entries  of  the  expense  accounts  of  the  Revels  ofhce.  We  may  be 
sure  that  it  always  possessed  some  allegorical  or  mythological  significance,  but  the 
account  books  seldom  throw  any  light  upon  this  point.  Feuillerat  {Documents  relating 
to  the  Office  of  the  Revels  during  the  Reign  of  Elizabeth)  publishes  expense  accounts  for 
"mounts"  used  in  masks  at  the  usual  seasons  in  1572-3  (pp.  160,  185),  1579-80  (p.  328) 
and  again  in  1581  (pp.  340,  345). 

"  See  above,  pp.  6-7. 

^'  I  follow  Neilson,  Origins  and  Sources,  etc.,  pp.  8  fi. 

^<  Traced  by  Creizenach  {Gcsch.  d.  n.  Dramas,  I.  467)  to  the  Psychomacia  of 
Pi-udentius,  ca.  400  A.  D. 

"One  of  the  Parables  ascribed  to  St.  Bernard.     Cf.  Neilson,  p.  21. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  15 

developed,  all  the  various  architectural  details  being  employed 
in  symbolic  representation.  Le  Chasteau  d^  Amour, ^^  ascribed  to 
Robert  Grosse teste,  and  written  early  in  the  thirteenth  century, 
is  perhaps  the  best  known,  and  in  its  relation  to  secular  allegory, 
the  most  influential,  work  of  this  group.  It  is  an  allegorical  repre- 
sentation of  the  body  of  the  Virgin  under  the  conventional  figure 
of  the  Castle,  and,  though  written  in  the  form  of  a  romance,  it 
is  wholly  religious  in  character. 

The  machinery  and  symbolism  of  this  religious  allegory  were 
taken  over  by  the  allegorical  romances  which  were  born  of  the 
court  of  love  enthusiasm.  These  are  considerable  in  number,  and 
extend  from  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  through  the  early 
years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  But  the  subject-matter  of  all 
of  them  is  largely  conventional.  Personified  emotional  states 
alhed  to  the  passion  of  love  take  the  place  of  the  soldiers  in  the 
armies  of  vice  and  virtue;  the  castle  and  the  fortress  become  the 
abode  of  Venus  or  the  stronghold  of  some  benevolent  or  mahg- 
nant  desire.  The  closely  allied  matters  of  love  and  gallantry  gave 
new  force  to  the  old  symbols  of  siege  and  warfare.  In  the  color- 
less realm  of  personified  abstraction  castles  are  stormed,  fair  ladies 
rescued  from  peril,  and  wicked  knights  punished,  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  in  the  heroic  romances  of  adventure. 

The  assault  of  the  allegorical  castle  by  militant  abstractions 
becomes  one  of  the  commonest  of  romantic  motives,  and  occurs 
with  slight  modifications  in  the  hterature  of  practically  every 
country  of  Europe.^^  The  classic  instance,  and  evidently  the 
model  for  many  later  imitations,  is  the  siege  of  the  Castle  of  Jeal- 
ousie  and  the  Hberation  of  Bel-Acueil  by  the  soldiers  of  Love,  in 
the  Roman  de  la  Rose^^ 

The  conception  was  an  ideal  one  for  representation  in  masks 
and  disguisings.  Its  theme,  simple  in  itself  and  widely  famihar, 
could  be  almost  completely  expressed  in  terms  of  action,  and  there- 
fore ran  no  risk  of  not  being  understood;  it  furnished  opportunity 
for  scenic  briUiancy  and  splendor,  while  the  romantic  idea  under- 
lying it  made  it  readily  adaptable  as  a  prelude  to  social  and  fes- 
tive occasions. 

^^  Le  Chasteau  d'  Amour,  ed.  by  M.  Cooke,  London,  1852,  for  Caxton  Society; 
discussed  by  Neilson,  pp.  136-38. 

"  Cf.  Brotanck,  pp.  325-26  for  a  few  instances  of  its  wide  dissemination  in  Euro- 
pean literature. 

«  Ed.  Francisque-Michel,  Paris,  1864,  11.  11,  252  ff. 


16  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

That  these  advantages  were  justly  appreciated  by  the  devisers 
of  court  entertainments  is  attested  by  the  frequency  with  which  the 
motive  is  repeated;  for  in  truth  it  recurs  with  slight  variations 
in  almost  monotonous  regularity  as  an  adjunct  to  Tudor  festivi- 
ties. The  earhest  recorded  instance  is  that  of  the  disguising  of 
1501,  noted  above.  Many  other  similar  exhibitions  are  described 
by  the  chroniclers  or  indicated  by  the  ofhcial  records  of  the  ofhce 
of  the  Revels.  Sometimes  these  dramatized  romantic  allegories 
borrow  perceptibly  from  the  machinery  and  atmosphere  of  the 
heroic  romances  of  adventure,  especially  when  they  serve  as  a 
framework  for  the  sports  of  the  tiltyard.  This  is  true  of  the  festivi- 
ties with  which  Henry  VIII^^  celebrated  the  birth  of  his  eldest 
son.  After  the  return  from  Richmond  to  Westminster,  (Febru- 
ary, 1511)  the  king  ordered  "a  solempne  justes  in  honor  of  the 
Queene. "  Assuming  the  name  ''Cure  Loial,"  the  king  chose 
three  companions  from  among  the  courtiers,  who  were  called  "Bon 
Valoire,"  "Bon  Espoir, "  and  "Valiaunt  Desire,"  the  whole  party 
bearing  the  appellation  "Les  quater  Chivaliers  de  la  forrest  Sal- 
vigne."  These  names  were  written  upon  "a  goodly  table,"  which 
was  hung  in  a  tree,  in  true  romantic  fashion.  The  "forest  Salvigne" 
itself  was  represented  by  an  elaborate  piece  of  pageantry  "twenty- 
six  feet  long,  sixteen  feet  broad  and  nine  feet  high,"  according  to 
the  circumstantial  details  in  the  official  account-books.  Among 
the  various  embellishments  are  mentioned  "hawthornes,  oaks, 
maples,  hazels,  birches,  fern,  broom,  and  furze,  with  beasts  and  birds 
embossed  of  sundry  fashion,  with  foresters  sitting  and  going  upon 
the  top  of  the  same";  and  in  the  itemized  expense  accounts  there 
are  entries  for  "two  dozen  embossed  birds,"  "2400  turned  acorns 
and  hazel  nuts,"  "gold  for  gilding  the  antelope's  horns,"  and 
"one  pound  vermillion  for  the  mouths  of  the  lion  and  antelope. "^° 
But  the  connected  account  of  Hall  affords  a  better  idea  of  all  this 
splendor:  "Into  the  Pally s  was  conveyed  a  pageaunt  of  great 
quantitie,  made  hke  a  forrest,  with  rock,  hills,  and  dales  .  .  . 
with  SIX  foresters  standing  within  the  said  forrest,  garnished  in 
cotes  and  hoods  of  grene  Velvet  ...  In  the  middes  of  this  for- 
rest a  castell  was  standing  made  of  gold  .  .  .  This  forrest  was 
drawen,  as  it  were,  by  the  strength  of  two  great  beastes,  a  Lyon  and 

«Cf.  Hall,  Chronicle,  p.  517;  also  Lciltrs  and  State  Papers  of  Henry  VIII,  II. 
1494-5. 

'"  Letters  and  State  Papers  of  Henry  VI 11,  II,  1494. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  17 

an  Antelope  ...  led  with  certaine  men  apparelled  like  wilde 
men  or  woodhouses  .  .  .  When  the  pageant  rested  before  the 
Queene,  the  forenamed  forsters  blewe  their  homes,  then  the  de- 
vise .  .  .  opened  on  all  sides  and  out  issued  the  foresayd  four 
Knyghtes,  armed  at  all  peces,"  etc.^^  They  were  confronted  by 
the  Earl  of  Essex  with  three  companions,  and  so  the  jousts  began 
and  lasted  all  that  day. 

At  night  the  revelry  was  changed  from  jousting  to  dancing, 
the  scene  being  Whitehall.  The  pageantry  provided  as  a  set- 
ting for  this  merry-making  lost  nothing  in  brilliancy,  though  its 
allegorical  significance  becomes  somewhat  more  obscure.  The 
representation  was  styled  the  "Golldyn  Arber  in  the  Arche  yerde 
of  Plesyr,"  and  there  was  the  same  attempt  at  gorgeous  reaHsm 
that  marked  the  pageant  of  "La  Forrest  Salvigne."  The  arbor 
was  set  with  "wrethyd  pilers  of  shyning  porpyll,  kevyrd  with  a 
type  in  bowd  gylld  with  fyne  golld,  ray  led  with  costly  Karou- 
fing,  and  thereover  a  vyen  of  sylver  beryng  grapes  of  golld;  the 
benchys  of  this  erber  were  set  and  wrought  with  kindly  flowers,  as 
roses,  lillies,  marygollds,  gelofers,  prymroses,  cowslyps  and  suche 
other;  and  the  erch  yerde  set  with  orenge  trees,  pere  trees,  olyf 
trees,  .  .  .  and  within  this  arber  were  sitting  xii  lordes  and  ladys, 
and  without  on  the  sydes  were  viii  mynstrells,  .  .  .  and  befor 
on  the  steps  stod  dyvers  persons  dysgysed,  and  on  the  top  were  the 
chylldren  of  the  chappell  synging,  so  that  on  this  pageaunt  were 
XXX  persons,  which  was  marvellous  wyghty  to  remove  and  carry.  "^^ 
From  Hall's  account^^  we  learn  that  the  pageant  was  preceded  by 
''a  gentleman  richly  apparelled,"  who  explained  the  meaning 
which  the  device  was  intended  to  convey,  but  as  the  explanation 
was  not  recorded,  we  are  none  the  wiser.  All  we  know  is  that  the 
chief  participants  bore  such  allegorical  names  as  ''Amour  Loyall," 
"BonFoy,"  "Valiaunt  Desire,"  and  that  *Svhen  the  said  pageant 
was  brought  forth  into  presence,  then  descended  a  lorde  and  a 
lady  by  copies  .   .   .  and  daunced,   that  it  was  good  to  see."^* 

"Hall,  Chronicle,  519. 

"  Letters  and  State  Papers  of  Henry  VIII,    II,  1496. 

^^  Chronicle,  p.  519. 

"  A  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Revels  left  the  following  account  of  the  sorry  fate 
that  overtook  this  gorgeous  and  costly  pageant.  "This  forrest  or  pageant  after  the 
ewsans  had  into  Westmester  Gret  Hall  (was)  by  the  king's  gard  and  other  gentylmen 
rent,  broken,  and  by  fors  karryd  away,  and  the  poor  men  that  wer  set  to  kep  it,  ther 
heds  brokyn  tv/o  of  them,  and  the  remnaunt  put  thcrfrom  with  forse,  so  that  none 


18  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

The  castle  was  again  assaulted  as  a  part  of  the  Christmas 
festivities  at  Greenwich  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VHI. 
Under  the  direction  of  Richard  Gibson  a  castle  was  built,  with 
towers  and  bulwarks,  and  fortified  with  ordnance  ''as  gouns, 
hagbochys,  kanuns,  kortaws,  chains  of  iern  werke  and  seche  like,"^^ 
and  across  the  front  was  written  ''Le  Fortresse  dangerus. "  Within 
the  castle  were  sk  ladies.  "And  when  the  Queene  had  beheld 
it  ...  in  came  the  king  w^th  V  others  .  .  .  These  six  assaulted 
the  castle,  the  ladies  seing  them  so  lustie  and  coragious  were  con- 
tent to  solace  with  them  and  upon  further  communicacion  to 
yield  the  castle,  and  so  they  came  down  and  daunced  a  long  space. "  '"^ 

Our  information  is  entirely  insufficient  to  enable  us  to  appre- 
hend the  inner  meaning  of  the  disguising  used  to  introduce  the 
jousts  in  the  tilt-yard  at  Green^vich  in  June  of  the  foUovv^ing  year. 
It  began  with  a  procession  of  ladies  clad  in  red  and  white  sillc, 
riding  upon  coursers  with  trappings  of  the  same  material.  Fol- 
lov/ing  these  came  a  pageant  representing  a  fountain  "with  eight 
gargilles  spouting  water,"  and  within  the  fountain  sat  the  King 
impersonating  a  knight.  Then  came  a  lady  "  all  in  black, "  followed 
by  a  knight  in  a  horse  litter,  a  gorgeous  affair  draped  with  black 
silk  and  fitted  with  silver  trimmings.  Then  suddenly  with  a  great 
noise  of  trumpets  came  in  a  pageant  bearing  the  designation, 
"The  Dolorous  Castle" — somber  in  hue,  as  befitted  its  name. 
Immediately  the  jousts  began  between  these  two  parties,  "and 
ever  the  King  break  most  spears.  "^^ 

The  Christmas  hohdays  of  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII  (1515)  were  passed  at  Eltham,  with  the  usual  round  of 
festivities.  Hall  tells  us  that  "on  the  xii  night  in  the  hall  was 
made  a  goodly  castle,  wondrously  set  out,  and  in  it  were  certeyn 
ladyes  and  knightes,  and  when  the  king  and  queen  were  set,  in 
came  other  knights  and  assayled  the  castel,  wher  many  a  good 
strype  was  geven,  and  at  last  the  assaylauntes  were  beaten  awaye.  "^^ 
It  will  be  noted,  perhaps  with  some  relief,  that  a  slight  element  of 


therof  but  the  bear  tymbyr  cum  near  to  the  kj^ng's  use  nor  stoar. "  Lei.  d'  Papers, 
II,  1494.  One  member  of  the  despoiling  party  sold  his  share  of  the  loot  for  £3,  14  s, 
8  d.  Hall,  51Q. 

^  Letters  and  State  Pipers,  II,  1498. 

'«Hall,  Chronicle,  525. 

"  Hall,  Chronicle,  p.  533. 

"Hall,  Chronicle,  583.     Letters  and  State  Papers,  II,  1499. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  19 

variety  appears  in  the  assault  of  the  castle  in  this  instance.  In 
the  first  place,  the  king  is  a  spectator  and  not  a  participant;  and, 
second,  the  "assaylaunts  were  beaten  awaye. "  This  unusual 
denouement  is  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that  there  were  knights 
as  well  as  ladies  in  the  fortress.  As  long  as  the  assaults  were  made 
upon  the  conventional  castles  of  "Love"  or  "Beauty,"  it  was  of 
course  necessary  for  social  and  allegorical  reasons  that  the  for- 
tunes of  war  should  usually  be  unfavorable  to  the  garrison,  else 
the  knights  would  have  to  resort  to  less  spectacular  means  of 
securing  partners  for  the  dance. 

The  romantic  and  social  significance  of  the  dramatic  allegory  is 
strongly  accentuated  in  the  description  which  Hall  gives'^'-*  of  the 
festivities  provided  by  Cardinal  Wolsey  for  the  night  of  Shrove 
Tuesday,  1522.  The  castle  in  this  instance  was  provided  with  a 
principle  tower  and  two  less  towers,*^"  in  all  of  v/hich  cressets  were 
burning.  On  the  top  of  each  was  a  banner,  with  mottoes  explain- 
ing the  allegory.  This  castle  was  kept  by  "ladyes  with  straunge 
names," — Beautie,  Honour,  Perseveraunce,  Kyndnes,  Constaunce, 
Bountie,  Mercie  and  Pitie.  Standing  about  the  castle  were  eight 
other  ladies  with  such  names  as  Disdain,  Gelousie,  ]\Ialebouche, 
etc.,  who  were  "tired  like  women  of  Inde."  The  attacking  party 
consisted  of  eight  lords, — Amorus,  Noblenes,  Gentlenes,  etc., 
"led  by  one  all  in  Crymosin  sattin  with  burning  flames  of  gold, 
called  Ardent  Desire  (the  king),  which  so  moved  the  ladies  to  give 
over  the  Castle,  but  Scorne  and  Disdaine  said  they  would  holde 
the  place."  Ardent  Desire,  however,  insisted  upon  immediate 
capitulation.  "Then  the  lordes  ronne  to  the  castle  (at  whiche 
time  was  a  greate  peale  of  gonnes)  and  the  ladies  defended  the 
castle  with  Rose  Water  and  Comfittes,  and  the  lordes  threwe  in 
Dates  and  Orenges  and  other  fruits  made  for  pleasure."  The 
place  was  finally  won,  despite  the  stubborn  defense  of  Lady  Scorne 
and  her  companions.     "Then  the  lordes  tooke  the  ladies  as  priso- 

^^  Chronicle,  p.  631. 

'^  Much  was  made  of  the  symbolism  of  the  tower  in  the  castle  allegory.  Cf .  the 
tower  of  Doctrine,  the  tower  of  llusic,  the  tower  of  Chivalrj^  etc.,  in  Stephen  Hawes' 
Pastime  of  Pleasure  (Percy  Society,  XVIII,  London,  1845).  In  Le  Tresor  Amoureux, 
usually  attributed  to  Froissart,  {Oeuvres  de  Froissart,  ed.  by  Scheler,  III,  52  ff.)  there  is 
a  park  guarded  by  eight  towers,  occupied  by  Diligence,  Bonte,  Beaute,  Honneur, 
Maniere,  Humilite,  Atrempance,  and  Courtoisie  (11.  325-49).  In  Bishop  Grosseteste's 
Chasteau  d'  Amour  the  castle  is  supported  by  four  towers,  each  inhabited  by  one  of 
the  cardinal  virtues,  a  detail  often  represented  in  the  castle  pageant. 


20  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

ners  by  the  handes  and  brought  them  downc  and  daunced  together 
very  pleasauntly. " 

An  excellent  illustration  of  the  elaborate  scale  on  which  these 
Tudor  revelries  were  conducted  and  the  extraordinary  length  to 
which  the  participants  were  wiUing  to  go  to  secure  the  effect  of 
realism  in  their  mimic  warfare  is  seen  in  the  attack  upon  the  Castle 
of  Loyaltie  which  constituted  the  principal  festive  event  of  the 
Christmas  season  of  1525.'*^  This  enterprise  was  the  result  of 
"a  chalenge  of  feactes  of  armes"  and  the  culmination  of  a  fiction 
that  was  solemnly  acted  by  the  whole  court  for  a  period  of  several 
days.  It  was  pretended  that  the  King,  "out  of  his  bountiful! 
goodnes,"  had  given  to  four  maidens  of  his  court  the  Castle  of 
Loyaltie,  to  dispose  of  as  they  saw  fit,  and  the  maidens,  anxious  to 
insure  its  safety,  had  placed  it  in  the  custody  of  a  very  valiant 
band  consisting  of  "a  captaine  and  fifteen  gentlemen  with  hym." 
The  Castle  of  Loyaltie  itself  stood  in  the  tilt-yard  at  Greenwich, 
a  massive  structure  twenty  feet  square  and  fifty  feet  in  height, 
"very  strong  and  of  grete  timber  well  fastened  with  yron."  On 
all  sides  were  great  ditches  fifteen  feet  in  depth,  "and  thei  were  very 
stepe,  and  betwene  the  diches  and  Castle  was  set  a  pale  whiche 
was  rampaired  with  yerthe  so  stepe  and  thicke  that  it  was  not  likely 
to  be  gotten."  The  surrounding  moat  was  duly  provided  with 
drawbridges.  In  fact,  so  complete  were  the  preparations  for 
defense  that  "when  the  strength  of  the  castle  was  wel  beholden, 
many  made  dangerous  to  assault  it,  and  some  saide  it  could  not 
be  won  by  sporte  but  by  earneste." 

On  Saint  Thomas's  Day,  before  Christmas,  the  band  to  whom 
the  defense  of  the  castle  had  been  entrusted  sent  a  herald  into  the 
Queen's  chamber,  the  king  being  present,  to  announce  to  "all 
Kynges,  princes,  and  other  gentlemen  of  noble  corage"  that  they 
were  ready  to  answer  all  challengers.  The  Captain  wished  it  to 
be  known  that  "nere  to  the  Castle  he  would  raise  a  Mounte,  on 
which  should  stand  a  Unicorne  supporting  foure  faire  shilds," 
red,  white,  yellow,  and  blue,  and  the  challengers  were  to  make 
known  the  nature  of  their  challenge  by  touching  a  particular 
shield,  a  device  often  employed  in  the  romances  of  chivalry. 

The  assault  did  not  begin  at  the  appointed  time,  however.  So 
formidable  was  the  castle  that  the  King,  who  of  course  was  to  have 
command  of  the  challengers,  had  devised  certain  engines  to  be 

«'  Described  by  Hall,  Chronicle,  pp.  688-9. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  21 

employed  in  the  attack,  "but  the  Carpenters  were  so  dull  that  they 
understood  not  his  entente  and  wrought  all  things  contrary." 
The  contest  for  the  time  being  was  transferred  to  the  open  field, 
but  by  the  second  of  January  the  plans  of  the  challengers  were  com- 
pleted, and  the  assault  on  the  castle  was  begun.  After  a  strenuous 
and  picturesque  siege  which  lasted  for  several  days,  its  capture  was 
finally  effected. 

Romantic  allegory,  dramatically  represented  in  the  banquet 
halls  and  tilt-yards  of  English  sovereigns,  did  not  cease  with  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  It  still  found  favor  with  the  knightly  cour- 
tiers of  Elizabeth.  Court  of  love  material,  worn  rather  thin,  it  is 
true,  but  still  recognizable,  Hes  at  the  foundation  of  the  entertain- 
ments prepared  by  Thomas  Churchyard  for  the  Queen  on  her  visit 
to  Suffolk  and  Norfolk  in  ISTS.*^'-  The  castle  is  lacking,  but  the 
usual  characters,  and  the  motives  that  inspired  them,  are  present. 
A  dramatic  outline  for  a  tournament  is  provided  as  follows:  Man- 
hode,  Good  Fortune,  and  Desarte  are  suitors  for  the  favors  of 
Beauty.  In  the  inevitable  conflict  among  the  wooers,  Manhode 
and  Desarte  are  vanquished,  the  former  being  slain  outright. 
Beauty,  in  her  distress  at  the  violence  of  the  suitors,  flies  to  the 
Queen  for  protection. 

The  personal  connection  of  the  dramatic  thread  with  Elizabeth, 
as  seen  in  the  last  named  touch,  was  a  matter  which  was  scarcely 
ever  overlooked  by  the  mask  poets  of  this  reign.  Indeed  one  of  the 
last,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  ingenius  and  pleasing,  of  all  the 
performances  involving  the  castle  motive  was  so  contrived  as  to 
make  of  it  an  elaborate  compHment  to  the  Queen.  It  included  a 
tournament,  however,  not  as  an  appanage,  but  as  an  integral 
part  of  the  whole.  Our  account  of  it  is  from  the  pen  of  Henry 
Goldwell,  and  is  entitled  "A  Declaration  of  the  Triumph  Showed 
before  the  Queen's  Majesty  and  the  French  Ambassadors  on  Whit- 
sun  Monday  and  Tuesday,  1581.""^  The  demand  for  vraisemUance 
not  being  as  strong  as  during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII,  the  castle 
was  not  actually  constructed,  but  the  gallery  at  the  end  of  the 
tiltyard  where  the  Queene  sat  to  witness  the  contests  was  denomi- 
nated "The  Castle  or  Fortress  of  Perfect  Beauty."  The  chal- 
lengers were  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  Lord  Windsor,  Sir  Philip  Sid- 

^^  Nichols,  John,  ed.  The  Progresses  and  Public  Processions  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
3  vols.  London,  1788-1821,  II,  179  ff. 

•'  Nichols,  Progresses  of  Elizabeth,  II,  310  ff. 


22  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

ney,  and  Master  Fulke  Greville,  who  called  themselves  the  "Foster 
Children  of  Desire."  They  declared  the  Castle  of  Perfect  Beauty 
to  be  their  special  patrimony,  and  announced  their  readiness  to 
defend  their  right  against  all  who  should  question  it.  The  fiction 
began  some  weeks  before  the  tournament  actually  took  place. 
On  a  Sunday  in  April,  when  the  Queen  was  returning  from  Chapel, 
a  boy  appeared  before  her,  and  delivered  the  speeches  of  defiance, 
after  the  manner  of  an  ancient  herald.  The  day  appointed  for 
the  tournament  having  arrived,  the  four  "Foster  Children"  made 
ready  to  besiege  the  "Castle  of  Perfect  Beauty."  Portable  battle- 
ments were  prepared,  upon  which  were  mounted  two  cannons,  with 
gunners,  and  within  the  battlements  were  arranged  "divers  kinds 
of  most  excellent  music  against  the  Castle  of  Beauty."  These 
things  being  ready,  the  attackers  approached,  first  passing  by  for 
a  near  survey  of  the  castle.  The  defi  was  repeated.  The  portable 
earthworks  were  moved  as  near  as  possible  to  the  Queen,  the  music 
continuing  without  interruption.     Then  a  boy  appeared  and  sang: 

"Yield,  yield,  O  yield,  you  that  the  fort  do  hold, 

Which  seated  is  in  spotless  honor's  field; 

Desire's  great  force  no  forces  can  withhold, 

Then  to  Desire's  desire  O  yield,  O  yield. 

Yield,  yield,  O  yield.     Trust  not  to  Beauty's  pride ! 

Fairness,  tho  fair,  is  but  a  feeble  shield, 

WTien  strong  Desire,  which  virtue 's  love  doth  guide, 

Claims  but  go  gain  his  due,  O  yield,  O  yield." 

Another  boy  sang  a  response,  advising  the  attackers  to  rely  only 
on  forcible  conquest. 

"Alarm!  Alarm!  Here  will  no  yielding  be! 
Such  marble  hearts  no  cunning  airs  can  charm. 
Courage,  therefore,  and  let  the  stately  see 
That  nought  withstands  Desire!  Alarm!  alarm!" 

When  the  songs  were  ended,  the  cannons  were  fired  off,  the  one 
with  sweet  powder,  the  other  with  sweet  water,  "very  odiferous 
and  pleasant,  and  the  noise  of  the  shooting  was  very  excellent 
of  music  within  the  mount." 

Then  came  the  defenders  in  full  retinue,  each  one  attended  by 
his  servants  and  pages.  One  of  the  pages,  disguised  as  an  angel, 
assured  the  Queen  that  the  dwellers  in  the  house  of  Beauty  had 
nothing  to  fear.  The  page  of  Sir  Thomas  Ratcliffe  then  told  her 
a  romantic  story  of  how  his  master,  having  suffered  long  in  the 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  23 

service  of  love,  and  having  at  last  withdrawn  himself  from  the 
world,  had  heard  of  the  attack  of  Desire  upon  the  Castle  of  Beauty, 
and  was  come  to  the  rescue.  The  tilt  then  continued  until  night- 
fall. 

The  next  day  the  "Foster  Children"  returned  for  a  second 
attack  under  the  personal  leadership  of  Desire  himself,  but  after 
a  spirited  fight  in  the  open  field  with  the  defending  party,  they 
decided,  upon  consultation,  that  it  would  be  a  presumption  to 
storm  the  castle,  and  so  surrendered  themselves  to  the  mercy  of 
Perfect  Beauty. 

The  long  reign  of  popularity  which  this  romantic  conception 
enjoyed  at  the  English  Court  came  to  an  end  with  the  tilt-yard 
compliment  of  1581,  and  we  do  not  find  it  appearing  thereafter 
as  a  framework  for  royal  festivities."^*  A  thoroughly  mediaeval 
notion  in  origin  and  signification,  it  was  at  last  displaced  by  newer 
and  more  artistic  fashions  in  regal  flattery  and  display.  The  ear- 
liest recorded  instance  of  its  dramatic  representation  in  England  is 
at  the  marriage  of  Prince  Arthur  and  Catherine  of  Arragon,  as 
described  above.  But  it  could  hardly  have  been  a  novelty,  even 
at  that  tim.e.  From  carvings  upon  ivory  caskets  and  figures  upon 
tapestry,  it  would  seem  that  the  conception  was  familiar  as  early 
as  the  reign  of  Edward  II. "^^  It  is  in  fact  quite  likely  that  in  this, 
as  in  several  other  instances,  the  court  borrowed  the  traditional 
material  of  the  May  games  and  other  popular  celebrations.  On 
the  continent  we  have  records  of  the  siege  of  the  Chateau  d'Amour 
in  connection  with  May-day  festivities  as  early  as  the  second  decade 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  These  correspond  in  methods  of  attack 
and  defense,  as  well  as  in  other  characteristic  details,  to  the  repre- 
sentations in  the  English  court  masks  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  Memoircs  of  the  French  Society  of  Antiquaries*^''  contain  an 
account  of  such  sports  by  the  young  people  of  certain  villages  in 
Switzerland.  On  the  first  Sunday  in  May  a  wooden  Chateau  d' 
Amour  was  built,  and  the  assault  made  upon  it  in  the  usual  manner. 

"  The  anon^inous  Masque  of  the  Twelve  Months,  presented  probably  in  1612, 
employs  a  modification  of  it.  See  Inigo  Jones.  A  Life,  etc.,  ed.  by  Collier,  Shak. 
Soc,  1848,  pp.  131-42. 

"  Cf.  article  (cited  by  Neilson,  pp.  137-8)  in  the  Gentleman' s  Magazine,  February, 
1835,  pp.  198  ff.,  entitled  On  Ancient  Caskets  of  Ivory  and  Wood. 

'*  Memoires  et  Dissertations  sur  les  Antiquites  nationales  et  fitrangeres,  pub. 
by  Soc.  Roy.  des  Antiquaires  do  France,  Paris,  1817, 1,  184-7.     Cited  by  Neilson,  p.  255. 


24  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

From  the  same  source,  too,  we  have  very  interesting  details  of 
le  siege  du  Chateau  d' Amour  in  the  town  of  Fribourg.  Inside  the 
castle  was  a  garrison  of  pretty  girls,  who  conducted  a  stubborn 
but  hopeless  defense  against  an  assaulting  party  of  young  men. 
The  ammunition  of  both  sides  consisted  of  bouquets  and  festoons  of 
roses;  and  after  the  capitulation  of  the  castle  all  rode  in  procession 
through  the  streets,  and  the  day  ended  in  dancing  and  other  forms 
of  revelry.  Further  evidence  of  the  remote  origin  of  the  assault 
upon  the  castle  as  a  feature  of  popular  merry-making  is  found  in 
the  account  given  by  Rolandinus  Pativinus  of  the  festivities  in 
the  city  of  Treviso  in  the  year  1214.  Because  of  the  striking  simi- 
larity in  general  detail  to  several  of  the  English  court  revels  which 
we  have  been  discussing,  the  passage  may  be  quoted  in  full: 

"Zur  Zeit  dieses  Podesta  (des  Albizi  Florensis)  wurde  ein  Hof- 
tag  der  Frohhchkeit  und  Lustbarkeit  in  der  Stadt  Treviso  veran- 
staltet,  zu  viel  als  moglich  Paduaner,  sowohl  Reiter  als  Fusssol- 
daten  eingeladen  vv^urden.  Es  gingen  dahin  auch  eingeladen,  um 
diesen  Hoftag  zu  schmijcken,  ungefahr  zwolf  Damen,  von  den 
edelsten  und  schonsten  und  am  meisten  zu  Spielen  geeigneten,  die 
damals  in  Padua  zu  finden  waren.  Der  Hoftag  oder  das  Spiel  war 
aber  folgendermassen:  es  wurde  zum  Scherz  eine  Burg  gebaut  und 
in  diese  die  Damen  mit  ihren  Jungfrauen,  Geleiterinnen  und  Die- 
nerinnen  gebracht,  die  nun  ohne  Beihiilfe  eines  Mannes  diese  Burg 
weislichst  vertheidigten.  Diese  Burg  war  auch  von  alien  Seiten 
mit  solchen  Befestigungen  beschiitzt,  namlich  mit  Bunt-  und 
Grauwerk,  mit  Purpur-Sornmet,  Scharlachstoffen,  Seidentuch- 
ern  aus  Bagdad  und  Almeria.  Was  soil  ich  sagen  von  den  goldenen 
Kronen,  von  ChrysoHthen  und  Hyacinthen,  von  Topasen  und 
Smaragden,  von  Rubinen  und  Perlen  und  von  den  Zieraten  aller 
Art,  mit  denen  die  Damen  ihre  Haupter  gegen  tien  Angriff  der 
Kampfer  geschiitzt  hatten.  Auch  che  Burg  musste  ersturmt  wer- 
den  und  wurde  ersturmt  mit  folgenden  Wurfgeschossen  und  Instru- 
menten:  Mit  Aepfeln,  Datteln,  und  Muskatnussen,  mit  kleinen 
Torten,  mit  Birnen,  mit  Rosen,  Lihen  und  Veilchen,  zugleich  mit 
Flacons,  gefullt  mit  Balsam,  ParfUms,  Rosenwasser,  mit  Ambra, 
Kampher,  Kardamom,  Zimmt,  Nelken,  kurz  mit  alien  Arten  von 
Blumen  und  Specerein,  die  nur  wohlriechen  und  glanzend  sind. 
Von  Venedig  wohnten  diesem  Spiele  viele  Manner  und  mehrere 
Damen  bei,  dem  Hoftage  eine  Ehre  zu  erweisen,  und  unter  dem 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  25 

kostbaren  Banner  des  heiligen  Marcus  kampften  die  Venetianer 
weise  und  ergotzlich.  "•'^ 

The  examples  of  the  early  English  court  mask  so  far  examined 
have  consisted  almost  entirely  of  attempts  to  represent  dramati- 
cally, \vith  the  aid  of  various  accessories  of  pageantry  and  decora- 
tion, the  symbolism  of  the  court  of  love  romances.  But  the  other 
great  branch  of  mediaeval  romantic  literature,  the  narratives  of 
those  knightly  heroes  who  do  not  wear  the  cloak  of  symbolism, 
contributed  scarcely  less  important  elements.  The  spirit  and  the 
ideals  of  chivalry  are  common  to  both,  and  both  drew  ultimately 
from  very  similar  sources  of  romantic  inspiration.  When  the  con- 
flicts between  the  personified  abstractions  of  the  allegorical  roman- 
ces are  represented  by  English  courtiers  upon  the  tilt-yards  at 
Greenwich  and  Westminster,  the  ideals  of  knightly  honor  which 
all  profess  to  follow  are  the  same  as  those  which  guided  the  heroes 
of  King  Arthur's  court  in  all  the  pursuits  of  love  and  war. 

So  vital,  in  fact,  was  the  Arthurian  tradition  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  that  it  exerted  a  pronounced  influence  upon  the  forms  and 
ceremonials  of  chivalry.  At  least  twice  in  England,  and  repeatedly 
on  the  continent,  were  the  association  of  the  knights  of  the  Round 
Table  and  other  traditional  features  of  life  at  the  mystical  court 
at  Camelot  established  with  solemn  adherence  to  the  details  of 
romance.  Roger  Mortimer  restored  the  Round  Table  at  Kenil- 
worth,  the  company  consisting  of  one  hundred  of  England's  bravest 
knights  and  as  many  of  her  fairest  ladies.««  At  Windsor  Edward  III, 
presided  over  an  association  of  twenty-five  knights  who  assumed 
the  names  and  simulated  the  characters  of  Arthurian  heroes.^^ 
The  rules  of  arms  alleged  to  have  been  promulgated  by  King  Arthur 
in  fact  governed  the  sports  of  the  tilt-yard  until  near  the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  term  "Round  Table,"  the  Greek 
traveller  Posidonius   tells  us,  was  the    common    designation    for 

"Rolandinus  Patavinus,  Chron.  1,  U.,  quoted  by  Schultz,  Das  Hdfische  Leben 
zur  Zeit  der  Minnesinger,  Leipzig,  1889,  I,  576. 

"Doniinus  Rogerus  de  mortuo  Mari  ennumerabli  multitudine  militum  et 
dominarum  apud  Kenilworthe  congregata,  famosissimum  celebravit  conviveum  ex- 
pensis,"  etc.  (Tom.  Wykes,  quoted  by  Schultz,  Ilofisches  Lcbcn  II.,  117)  Cf.  also  notes 
to  Drayton's  IlisL  Epist.  Mori.  Isabel,  V.  53  and  Hisloire  liUeraire  do  la  France,  T. 
23,  p.  470. 

"Th.  Walsingham,  Hist,  brevis  Angliae  ab  Edwardo  I,  ad  Hen.  V,  London,  1574. 
fol.  p.  117. 


26  ROJilANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

jousts  and  tournaments. '°  The  Latin  chroniclers  in  fact  almost 
invariably  use  the  term,  (sometimes  restricting  it  to  single  com- 
bats) to  describe  the  martial  sports  imitated  from  ancient  chivalry. 
The  account  of  those  at  Hesdin,  in  1235,  reads  "apud  Hesdinium 
ubi  se  exercebant  ad  Tabulam  rotundum."^^  At  the  Abbey  of 
Walden,  in  1252,  the  express  remark  of  the  historian  (Matth.  Paris, 
p.  819)  is  that  the  English  Knights  tried  their  strength  not  in  or- 
dinary combats,  "sed  in  illo  hido  militari  qui  mensa  rotunda  dici- 
tur."  The  sports  which  Mortimer  instituted  at  Kenilworth  are 
described  as  "ludum  militarem,  quem  vocant  rotundam  Tabulam, 
centum  miHtum  ac  tot  dominarum  constituit.  "'^  Such  sports  are 
forbidden  by  the  Bull  of  Pope  Clement  V:  "In  faciendis  justis 
praedictis  quae  tabulae  rotundae  in  aliquibus  partibus  vulgariter 
nuncupantur,  eadem  damna  et  pericula  imminent,  quae  in  tornea- 
mentis  praedictis,  idcirco,  certa  causa  idem  justatum  dum  exis- 
tit."" 

It  has  been  suggested,  and  indeed  appears  quite  probable,  that 
the  heroes  of  romance  were,  usually  impersonated  in  these  mar- 
tial sports  and  feats  of  gallantry.'*  That  such  was  the  case  through- 
out the  reign  of  Henry  VHI  and  later  with  respect  to  the  somewhat 
more  fashionable  allegorical  romances,  we  have  had  abundant 
proof.  We  have  seen  furthermore  the  elaborate  fictions  invented 
and  solemnly  acted  by  the  courtiers  of  Henry  VHI  and  Elizabeth  as 
a  framework  for  their  chivalrous  merry-making.  In  an  inven- 
tory of  the  properties  in  the  armory  of  the  tilt-yard  at  Greenwich, 
made  by  George  Lovekyn,  clerk  of  the  stable,  at  the  direction  of 
Sir  Henry  Guildford,  Master  of  the  Horse,  in  the  second  year  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII,  are  mentioned  the  arms  of  King  Arthur, 
Brute,  and  Cadwallader,  and  "steel  bards  gilt  with  a  trail  of  roses 
and  pomegranates,  with  the  story  of  St.  George  and  St.  Bar- 
bara. "^^  Similar  romantic  conceptions  are  found  in  the  fondness 
for  dragons,  monsters,  etc.,  in  Tudor  court-pageantry  and  dis- 
guisings.     The   Rouge  Dragon   was   a   favorite   badge   of  Henry 

"  Hisl.  int.  dc  la  France,  T.  23,  p.  470. 
"'  Schultz,  Hofisches  Leben,  II,  117. 

"  Wilhelm  Rischanger  (1279)  quoted  by  Shultz,  Hofishes  Leben,  II,  117. 
"  Grasse,  Lehrbuch  einer  AUgemeine  LUerdrgcschichte,  4  Bde.,  Dresden,  1840,  Bd. 
II,  Abt.  3,  s.  150  f.,  quoting  Du  Cange,  Gloss.  Med.  Lathi,  T.  Ill,  p.  1049. 
^^  Cf.  Hist.  litl.  de  la  France,  T.  23,  p.  470. 
'5  Letters  and  State  Papers  of  Henry  VIII,  III,  2,  p.  1550. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  27 

VII,"  and  acquired  on  this  account  special  significance  as  an  em- 
blem of  Tudor  grandeur.  The  procession  which  celebrated  the 
Coronation  of  the  Queen,  in  1487,  consisted  of  many  "gentel- 
manie  pageants,"  among  which  is  mentioned  "a  great  redde  dra- 
gon spouting  flames  of  fyer  into  the  Thames.""  In  the  ancient 
painting  at  Hampton  Court  representing  the  meeting  of  Henry  VIII 
and  Francis  I  on  the  famous  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,  the  red 
dragon  is  shown  flying  over  the  head  of  Henry  and  accompany- 
ing him  on  his  way.^*  The  red  dragon  appeared  again  in  the  pro- 
cession which  brought  Anne  Boleyn  from  Greenwich  to  the  Tower 
for  the  Coronation  ceremonies,  in  1533.  The  mayor  and  the  citi- 
zens, at  the  invitation  of  Henry,  had  undertaken  "to  see  the  citie 
ordered  and  garnished  with  pageaunts  in  places  accustomed,  for 
the  honor  of  her  grace."  Leading  the  procession  that  moved  up 
the  Thames,  and  followed  immediately  by  the  Mayor's  barge,  was 
"a  foyst  or  wafter  full  of  ordinaunce,  in  which  foyst  was  a  great 
dragon,  continually  moving  and  casting  wyld  fyer,  and  round  about 
the  said  dragon  stode  terrible  monsters  and  wyld  men  casting  fyer 
and  making  hideous  noises.  "^^  Hall  tells  us  further  that  on  the 
left  of  the  Mayor's  barge  was  another  "foyst"  on  which  was  a 
"mount,"  and  "on  the  same  stode  a  white  Fawcon  crowned,  upon 
a  rote  of  golde  environed  with  white  roses  and  red,  which  was  the 
Queenes  devise.  "**" 

We  have  seen  how  the  court  of  Arthur  was  "restored"  at 
Kenilworth  by  Mortimer  and  at  Windsor  by  Edward  HI.  The 
precise  extent  to  which  the  materials  of  heroic  romance  entered 
into  these  representations  is  not  known,  because  of  the  meagerness 
of  the  accounts  which  have  reached  us  concerning  them.  Of  simi- 
lar enterprises  on  the  continent  at  approximately  the  same  time, 
we  possess  much  more  detailed  information,  and  in  these,  scenes 
from  the  old  romances  were  staged  upon  the  tilt-yard,  and  legendary 
heroes  performed  anew  their  feats  of  gallantry  and  daring.  One  of 
the  most  famous  was  the  grand  tournament  held  at  the  Chateau 

''  Glossary  of  Terms  used  in  Heraldry,  p.  297. 

"  Cf.  Chambers,  Med.  Stage,  II.  170. 

'*  Fairholt,  Lord  Mayors'  Pageants,  p.  11. 

"  HaU,  Chronicles,  p.  799. 

'"  A  reference  to  the  union  of  the  houses  of  Lancaster  and  York  by  the  marriage 
of  Henr>'  VII.  Anne  Boleyn's  coat  of  arms  was  "argent,  a  chevron  gules  between 
three  bull's  heads  couped  sable,  armed  or." — J.  Woodward,  Treatise  on  Heraldry,  p.  11. 


28  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

de  Ham-sur-Somme,  in  1278.^^  A  proclamation  from  Dame  Cour- 
toisie  was  circulated  among  the  flower  of  European  chivalry,  and 
when  the  famous  assembly  had  gathered,  no  less  a  personage  than 
Queen  Guinevere  was  chosen  to  preside.  Among  the  other  roman- 
tic figures  specifically  mentioned  are  Arthur's  seneschal.  Sir  Kay, 
the  famous  Soeur  d 'Amour,  a  character  in  the  Sir  Cliges  of  Chres- 
tien  de  Troyes,  who  four  times  crossed  the  sea  to  Scotland  and 
Northumberland  to  demand  her  lover  whom  another  lady  had 
imprisoned,  and  the  Knight  of  the  Lion,  who  at  the  command  of 
Guinevere  delivered  four  ladies  from  captivity. ^^  Among  the 
historical  personages  who  took  part  in  the  combats  and  the  ban- 
quetting  and  dancing  which  followed  was  the  famous  Robert  Compte 
d'  Artois.  Indeed,  the  roster  of  participants  has  been  an  impor- 
tant source  of  information  in  tracing  the  lineage  of  many  ancient 
families  among  the  French  and  Flemish  nobility. 

Nearly  three  centuries  later,  and  in  a  neighboring  locaUty, 
the  stirring  deeds  of  mediaeval  romantic  heroes  were  dramatized 
upon  a  gigantic  scale  for  the  amusement  of  the  most  renowned 
sovereign  of  Europe,  the  Emperor  Charles  V.*''  This  magnificent 
pageant  was  arranged  by  the  Emperor's  sister,  the  Queen  of  Hun- 
gary, at  Bins,  in  Flanders,  in  1549.  The  performance  lasted  two 
days,  and  embraced  all  the  extravagant  melodrama  that  mediaeval 
romance  could  be  made  to  yield,  —  brave  knights  risking  fife  in 
the  effort  to  relieve  distressed  beauty,  awe-inspiring  supernatural 
phenomena,  magic  castles,  fiery  dragons,  wicked  enchanters,  dwarfs, 
and  giants.  None  of  the  approved  thrill-producing  agencies  seems 
to  have  been  omitted.  There  were  numerous  single  combats  be- 
tween individual  knights  as  well  as  between  parties  representing 
the  opposing  sides,  but  the  whole  centered  about  the  siege  of  a 
castle,  not  the  allegorical  castle  of  Love,  or  Beauty,  or  Loyalty,  of 
which  we  have  had  so  many  examples,  but  the  conventional  magic 
castle  of  mediaeval  romance,  in  wliich  fair  ladies  and  brave  knights 
had  been  imprisoned  by  a  wicked  enchanter.  The  leader  of  the 
rescuing  party  was  Philip,  afterward  Philip  II,  and  the  assault 
was  made  with  all  the  strenuousness  of  actual  warfare.     Finally,  as 

*'  Described  in  the  so-called  Roman  de  Ham.  See  De  la  Rue,  Essais  historiqiies 
sur  les  bardes,  les  jongleurs  et  les  troureres  normands,  Caen,  1834.  3  Vols.  Vol.  I, 
p.  148  flf. 

*^De  la  Rue  (I.  148)  supposes  that  characters  impersonating  all  the  important 
Knights  of  King  Arthur's  Court  appeared  among  the  combatants. 

«'  Described  by  Calvete  de  Estrella,  Viage  del  Principe  Don  Filipe,  pp.  188-205. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  29 

a  fitting  denouement  for  so  wild  a  story,  the  castle  vanished  from 
sight,  by  virtue  of  its  magical  properties,  and  the  performance 
came  to  an  end.^^ 

This  magnificent  affair  had,  as  we  have  seen,  many  parallels 
at  the  English  court  during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII  except  for  the 
fact  that  the  English  pageants,  instead  of  drawing  directly  upon  the 
romances  of  chivalry  for  their  material,  employed  rather  the  chiv- 
alrous conventions  as  modified  by  the  court  of  love  romances. 
It  is  probable  that  some  of  the  Enghsh  tournaments  of  which  we 
possess  only  scraps  of  information,  such  for  instance  as  those  of 
Edward  III  and  his  knights  of  the  restored  Round  Table,  ap- 
proached in  grandeur  and  brilliancy  the  famous  assembly  at  Ham- 
sur-Somme.  It  was  real  and  not  mimic  warfare,  however,  that 
absorbed  the  energies  of  the  Engfish  chivalry  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  turbulent  fifteenth  century.  The  Tudors  brought  a 
return  to  stable  conditions,  but  the  first  of  the  line  was  too  prac- 
tical and  matter-of-fact  to  give  more  than  a  thought  to  play.  But 
the  accession  of  his  young,  buoyant,  and  pleasure-loving  succes- 
sor brought  a  return  of  the  old-time  romantic  atmosphere  to  the 
EngHsh  court,  which,  save  for  the  pall  that  enveloped  the  mid- 
decade,  was  to  continue  undisturbed  throughout  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. 

The  traditions  of  chivalry,  which  had  survived  the  ravages 
made  among  the  older  nobihty  by  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  were  not 
completely  forgotten  in  the  growing  passion  for  the  new  culture  of 
the  Renaissance.  Legendary  heroes  out  of  the  old  romances  still 
continued  to  be  famiHar  figures  in  English  court  Hfe.  When 
Prince  Arthur  visited  Coventry,  in  1498,  the  mythical  son  of 
Uther  met  him  in  person  and  made  a  speech  of  Welcome. ^^  Valen- 
tine and  Orson  participated  in  the  festivities  at  the  coronation  of 
Edward  VI.«« 

"This  "disappearance"  was  effected  in  such  cases  by  having  the  castle,  etc.,  so 
constructed  that  its  walls  could  be  made  instantaneously  to  fall  flat.  Such  a  contriv- 
ance figured  in  some  unexplained  way  in  a  Court  perform.ance  before  Elizabeth,  in 
1577.  In  the  Revels  accounts  (Feuillerat,  p.  345)  we  find  entries  for  "Dragon  with 
y^  fyer  woorkes,  Castell  with  y^  falling  sydes,"  etc. 

*^  Brotanek,  p.  5. 

»' Edward  the  Confessor,  St.  George,  and  "numerous  abstractions"  were  also 
represented.  Cf.  Nichols,  Literary  Remains  of  Edw.  VI,  (Roxburgh  Library),  and 
Chambers,  Med.  Stage,  II,  171. 


30  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Arthur,  Charlemagne,  and  Godfrey  of  Bouillon — the  contri- 
bution of  Christianity  to  the  galaxy  of  immortal  Worthies — con- 
tinue to  make  their  appearance  in  company  with  their  illustrious 
associates.  The  stubborn  persistence  of  the  Nine  Worthies  as  lay 
figures  in  pageants  and  dumb  shows  is  indicated  by  Shakespeare's 
burlesque  in  Lovers  Labour's  Lost.  The  notion  is  characteristi- 
cally mediaeval,  this  balancing  of  three  figures  chosen  from  each 
of  three  eras  of  history,  Christian,  Pagan,  and  Jewish,  who  should 
stand  as  the  concrete  embodiment  of  imperishable  renown.  The 
Christian  world  was  represented  by  the  three  celebrities  named 
above,  the  Pagan  b}'  Hector,  Alexander,  and  Julius  Caesar,  and  the 
Jewish  by  Josua,  David,  and  Judas  Maccabaeus.  In  some  instances 
slight  substitutions  were  made  in  the  first  two  groups,  but  hardly 
ever  in  the  last;  and  sometimes  as  a  compliment  to  local  or  national 
heroes,  a  tenth  worthy  was  added,  as  Henry  VIII  in  England, 
Robert  Bruce  in  Scotland,  and  Bertrand  de  Guesclin  in  France. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  when  or  by  whom  the  selection  was  first 
made.  In  the  Voeux  dii  Paon  Jaques  de  Longuyon  had  celebrated 
the  groups  as  embodiments  of  all  the  ideals  of  knighthood.  An 
anonymous  work,  written  evidently  during  the  reign  of  Charles 
VIII,  was  printed  at  Abbeville  in  1487,  with  the  title,  "Le  triumphe 
des  neuf  preux,  auquel  sont  continus  tous  les  faits  et  prouesses  quilz 
on  acheuez  durant  leur  vies  avec  lystoire  de  Bertrand  de  Guesclin."^^ 
A  second  edition  appeared  at  Paris  in  1507,  and  a  Spanish  trans- 
lation by  Antonio  Rodriguez  at  Lisbon,  in  1530.  A  "Roman  de 
Judas  Machabee"  was  begun  about  1240  by  Gautier  de  Belle- 
perche,  and  was  finished  by  the  Troubedour  Pierre  du  Ries.^^ 
It  was  later  turned  into  a  prose  romance  which  we  still  possess, 
"Les  excellentes,  magnifiques  et  triomphantes  chroniques  de 
tres — valeureux  prince  Judas  Machabeus,  un  des  neuf  preux  et 
aussi  de  ses  quatre  freres,  transl.  de  latin  en  francais,"  by  Charles 
de  St.  Gelais,  Paris,  1514.**-'  The  orignial  work  appears  to  have 
been  lost.^" 

*' Grasse,  Lchrhuch,  etc.,  II,  3.  394-5;  Extract  in  Bibliothcqiic  des  Romans,  1775, 
Juillet,  T.  I,  p.  141  et  seq. 

**  See  De  la  Rue,  Bardes,  Jongleurs,  et  Troiiveres,  II,  178. 

8«  Grasse,  Lehrbueh  II,  3,  p.  435. 

'"It  is  probably  not  the  same  as  the  e.xtant  "Raumant  d'  Auberon  ensi  que  ses 
aves  Judas  Macabeus, "  etc.  Distinct  from  both  also  is  the  supposedly  lost  "  Roumans 
du  Roy  Auberon  et  du  Huon, "  which  is  believed  to  have  been  the  original  of  the 
current  prose  romance  "Huon  of  Bordeaux."     See  Grasse,  II,  3,  435. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  ^L\SK  31 

The  Worthies  enjoyed  an  extraordinary  popularity  in  mediaeval 
and  early  modern  England.  They  were  nearly  always  found  among 
the  heterogeneous  figures  composing  the  pageants  of  the  Corpus 
Christi  Processions.^^  In  an  undated  Harleian  manuscript,  the 
English  national  hero  Guy  of  Warwick  takes  the  place  of  Godfrey 
of  Bouillon,^2  as  does  Robert  Bruce  in  the  Scottish  "Ballet  of  the 
nine  Nobles.  "^^  When  Queen  Margaret  and  Henry  VI  visited 
Coventry,  in  1456,  they  were  entertained  with  shows  devised  by  one 
John  Wedurley,  among  which  was  a  separate  pageant  for  each  of 
the  Nine  Worthies. ^^  The  occasion  of  the  proclamation  of  Henry 
VIII  as  King  of  Ireland,  in  1541,  was  celebrated  with  "epulae,  com- 
oediae,  et  certamina  ludicra,"  in  which  the  Worthies  played  an 
important  part.^'  The  city  of  Dublin  welcomed  Lord  Sussex  upon 
his  return  from  an  expedition  against  James  MacConnell  in  1557, 
with  a  show  of  the  Six  Worthies.^''  When  Philip  II  came  to  Lon- 
don as  the  husband  of  Mary,  in  1554,  his  sensibilities  may  well  have 
been  offended  by  a  large  painting  of  the  Worthies  which  stood 
at  the  conduit  in  Gracechurch  street.  Henry  VIII,  who  was  given 
a  prominent  place  among  them,  was  represented  as  handing  a 
Bible  to  Edward  VI,  and  strong  objection  was  made  because  the 
painter  had  not  caused  the  Bible  to  be  presented  to  Mary.^^  At  a 
May  Day  celebration  in  London,  in  1557,  there  was  "a  joly  may 
gam  in  Fanchurch  strett,  with  drumes  and  gunes  and  pykes,  and 
the  9  Wordes  dyd  ryd  and  thay  had  speches  evereman."^*  In 
Stephen  Hawes'  Pastime  of  Pleasure,  Dame  Fame,  appearing  to 
the  dead  Graunde  Amoure,  assures  him  that  for  his  worthy  demea- 
nor during  life,  his  heroism  in  slaying  the  ugly  giants,  the  fiery 
dragon,  and  in  overcoming  the  seven  metals  of  enchantment,  and, 
above  all,  for  winning  the  love  of  "La  Bell  Pucell  the  most  fayre 
lady,"  his  "renowne  shall  raigne  eternally";  and  to  acquaint  him 
with  the  true  meaning  of  the  immortality  of  fame,  she  recites  in 
detail  the  glorious  career  of  each  of  the  Nine  W^orthies,  of  whom  he 

8'  Chambers,  Med.  Stage,  II,  365. 

9=  Brotanek  (p.  56)  citing  MS.  Harl.  no.  2220,  fol.  7. 

^Ubid.  citing  Auglia,  XXI,  p.  359. 

'*  Coventry  Led  Book,  quoted  by  Sharp,  Diss,  on  Cov.  Mys.,  147. 

''  Chambers,  II,  365. 

5«  Chambers,  II,  365. 

"  Holinshed,  Chronicles,  III,  1091.     Brotanek,  p.  56. 

^«  Brotanek,  (p.  56),  quoting  IMS.  Cot.  Vitellius,  F.  V.,  etc. 


32  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

is  now  become  the  peer.^^  At  the  famous  meeting  of  Henry  VIII 
and  Francis  I  at  Ardres  and  Guines,  in  1520,  the  traditional  num- 
ber of  the  Worthies  was  raised  to  ten  by  the  addition  of  Hector. ^*''' 
"The  fyrst  persone  of  the  X,"  says  Hall,  "was  apparelled  like 
Hercules  in  a  shirt  of  silver  and  damaske  written  in  letters  of  pur- 
ple about  the  border,  'en  femes  et  infauntes  cy  petit  assurance.'  " 
A  curtailment  of  the  Worthies,  with  significant  omissions  and 
substitutions,  formed  the  framework  of  the  very  elaborate  pagean- 
try with  which  Henry  VIII  entertained  the  Emperor  Charles  V 
on  the  occasion  of  his  famous  visit  to  the  English  court. ^^^  Several 
of  the  shows  were  embodiments  of  recondite  allusions  to  the  various 
international  quarrels  then  in  progress.  When  Henry  and  his 
illustrious  guest  reached  the  Draw  Bridge  leading  into  the  city, 
they  found  it  securely  guarded  by  two  huge  giants  representing 
Hercules  and  Sampson,  each  bearing  his  traditional  weapons,  and 
both  together  supporting  a  great  Table  on  which  was  written 
"all  the  Emperor's  Style."  At  the  middle  of  the  bridge  stood  a 
splendid  edifice  occupied  by  Jason  with  the  Golden  Fleece.  On 
one  side  of  him  stood  a  fiery  dragon,  and  on  the  other  two  bulls, 
"the  whych  beastes  cast  out  fyer  continually."  Passing  on  to 
the  conduit  in  Gracious  Street,  they  found  a  magnificent  palace, 
at  the  entrance  of  which  stood  Charlemagne  holding  two  swords. 
One,  the  sword  of  Justice,  he  gave  to  the  Emperor;  the  other,  the 
sword  of  Triumphant  Victory,  he  committed  into  the  keeping  of 
Henry.  Before  him  sat  the  Pope,  to  whom  he  gave  a  crown  of 
thorns  and  three  nails,  accompanying  them  with  explanatory 
verses  in  Latin.  Next  they  passed  to  Leadenhall,  where  they 
found  John  of  Gaunt  presiding  over  a  gorgeous  pageant  repre- 
senting all  his  descendants,  "and  on  the  top  stood  the  Emperor, 
the  King  of  England  and  the  Queen,  as  three  in  the  VI  degree 
from  the  sayd  duke."  From  thence  they  proceeded  to  the  conduit 
in  Cornhill,  and  found  there  a  splendid  palace  surmounted  by  two 
towers.  Under  a  cloth  of  state  sat  King  Arthur,  who  was  being 
served  by  ten  kings,  dukes,  and  earls.  At  the  approach  of  the 
King  and  the  Emperor,  a  poet  addressed  to  them  the  following 
verses: 

'^  Pastime  of  Pleasure,  cd.  from  edition  of  1555,  Percy  Society,  XVIII,  London, 
1845,  Chap.  LXIII,  pp.  208-12. 
'o"  Hall,  Chronicle,  p.  619. 
'"  Described  by  Hall,  Clironide,  pp.  63S-9. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  33 

"Laudat  magnanimos  urbs  inclita  Roma  Catones 
Canlant  Hannibalem  punica  regna  suuin 
Gentis  erat  Solime  rex  ingens  gloria  David. 
Gentis  Alexander  gloria  prima  sue. 
lUustrat  fortis  Arthuri  fama  Brittannos 
Illustras  gentem  Cesar  et  ipse  tuam 
Cui  deus  imperium  victo  precor  hoste  secundet 
Regnet  ut  in  terris  pads  arnica  quies. " 

"And  so  they  passed  through  the  Poultry  to  the  Great  Conduit  in 
Chepe  where  was  made  .  .  .  four  towers  .  .  .  and  in  the  four 
towers  were  four  fayre  ladyes  for  the  four  cardinall  virtues  so 
richely  besene  that  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  beholde."  Such 
pageants  as  this  last  were  quite  common;  they  originated  evidently 
in  an  attempt  to  represent  objectively  a  part  of  the  allegory  elab- 
orated by  Bishop  Grosseteste  in  his  Chasteau  d' Amour .^'^"^ 

The  materials  of  high  romance,  with  a  slight  admixture  of 
mythological  elements,  entered  largely  into  the  entertainments 
which  Leicester  prepared  for  Queen  Elizabeth  on  the  occasion 
of  her  famous  visit  to  Kenil worth,  in  1575.  Two  contemporary 
accounts  of  these  performances  are  left  to  us, — one  by  Gascoigne, 
who  aided  in  preparing  them,  the  other  by  the  London  tradesman, 
Laneham,  upon  whose  mind  they  seem  to  have  made  a  strong 
impression. ^^^  And  we  can  but  admire  the  ingenuity  with  which 
the  court  poets  fashioned  the  materials  of  Arthurian  legend  into 
an  elaborate  and  tasteful  compliment  to  the  Queen.  Much  is 
made  of  the  tradition  that  King  Arthur  once  held  court  at  Kenil- 
worth,  though  the  dramatic  elements  in  the  entertainment  center 
about  the  story  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  as  told  in  Book  IV  of  the 

"^'-  See  above,  p.  19.  One  of  the  pageants  forming  the  procession  which  escorted 
Anne  Boley-n  to  the  coronation  ceremonies  was  a  "Tower  with  four  Turretts,  and  in 
eveiy  one  of  the  four  turretts  stood  one  of  the  cardinall  Virtues  with  their  tokens 
and  properties,  which  had  several  speaches,  promising  the  queen  never  to  leave  her" 
(Hall,  802).  Walsingham,  in  his  account  of  the  reception  of  Richard  II  by  the  citizens 
of  London  in  1377,  tells  us  of  a  pageant  in  the  form  of  a  castle  with  four  towers,  from 
the  sides  of  which  wine  ran  forth  in  abundance.  In  each  tower  was  a  beautiful  virgin 
in  white  garments,  and  upon  the  approach  of  the  King,  they  blew  in  his  face  leaves 
of  gold  and  threw  counterfeit  gold  florins  upon  him.     (Cf.  Fairholt,  pp.  3-4.). 

'"^  Both  are  printed  in  Nichols,  Progresses  of  Elizabeth,  I,  B-H,  1-70;  Gascoigne's 
account,  "The  Princely  Pleasures  of  Kenil  worth  Castle,"  in  Complete  Works  of  Gas- 
coigne, ed.  Cunliffe,  Vol.  2,  pp.  91-133;  "Laneham's  Letter,"  with  much  valuable 
supplementary  matter,  in  the  edition  by  Dr.  Furnivall,  Captain  Cox' s  Ballads  and  Books , 
Ballad  Society,  London,  1871. 


34  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Morte  D 'Arthur.  They  begin  with  a  welcoming  ceremony  to  the 
Queen.  As  the  royal  party  was  approaching  the  Castle,  a  sybil 
appeared,  and,  in  a  set  of  verses  devised  by  Hunnis,  assured  her 
Majesty  that  only  happiness  and  prosperity  were  to  come  to  Eng- 
land during  her  reign.  When  the  outer  gates  of  the  Castle  were 
reached,  there  appeared  upon  the  battlements  six  huge  trumpeters, 
"much  exceeding  the  stature  of  men  in  this  age.  By  this  dumb 
show  it  was  meant  that  in  the  days  of  Arthur  men  were  of  that 
stature;  so  should  Kenilworth  seem  still  to  be  kept  by  Arthur's 
servants  and  heirs."  On  entering,  the  Queen  found  that  the 
porter  was  no  less  a  person  than  Hercules,  "who  being  overcome 
by  the  rare  beauty  and  princely  countenance  of  her  Majesty, 
surrendered  himself  and  his  charge,"  in  a  bad  poem  written  by 
Badger.  Inside  the  court  the  Queen  was  met  by  the  Lady  of  the 
Lake  herself,  attended  by  two  nymphs,  "who  came  all  over  the 
Poole,  being  so  conveyed  that  it  seemed  they  had  gone  upon  the 
water."  She  sketched  the  history  of  Kenilworth  from  the  time 
that  it  had  sheltered  the  mystical  King  Arthur,  and  delared  that 
the  intervening  years  had  been  for  her  a  period  of  deep  sorrow;  but 
she  announced  her  intention  of  coming  forth  from  her  retirement, 
since  at  last  she  had  found  one  on  whom  she  might  bestow  the 
love  of  which  she  had  hitherto  thought  only  Arthur  to  be  worthy. 

Some  days  later  the  deliverance  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  was 
represented.  As  the  Queen  crossed  the  bridge,  on  return  from 
hunting,  she  was  met  by  Triton,  with  a  message  from  Neptune 
imploring  her  assistance  in  behalf  of  the  distressed  damsel,  whom 
the  wicked  knight  Sir  Bruse-sans-pitie  constantly  pursued,  with 
evil  designs.  Sir  Bruse's  grievance  was,  that  the  damsel  had 
imprisoned  his  cousin  MerHn  within  a  rock,  as  a  punishment  for 
his  inordinate  lust.  Neptune  had  done  what  he  could  to  alleviate 
her  distress.  To  keep  her  from  faUing  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked 
knight,  he  had  enveloped  her  in  the  waves,  where,  according  to 
the  prophecy  of  Merlin,  she  must  remain — the  Lady  of  the  Lake 
forever — unless  she  were  Hberated  by  the  presence  of  a  better 
maiden  than  herself.  Therefore,  Neptune  sent  to  beseech  her 
Majesty  to  allow  the  magic  of  her  presence  its  full  force  in  dis- 
pelHng  the  power  of  Sir  Bruse.  Triton  having  delivered  himself 
of  this  message,  the  Queen  proceeded  further  on  the  bridge,  where 
she  was  met  by  the  Lady  of  the  Lake,  attended  by  two  nymphs. 
Next  appeared  Proteus,  sitting  upon  a  dolphin's  back,  who  sang  a 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  35 

song  of  congratulation,  "as  well  in  behalf  of  the  lady  distressed,  as 
also  in  behalf  of  all  the  nymphs  and  gods  of  the  sea."  We  learn 
from  Gascoigne  that  a  battle  between  the  knights  of  the  Lady  and 
the  forces  of  Sir  Bruse  was  arranged  for,  but  not  performed. 

An  illuminating  example  of  the  vitality  which  the  traditions  of 
the  age  of  chivalry  still  possessed  in  Elizabethan  England  is  found 
in  the  romantic  figure  of  the  "Old  Knight"  Sir  Henry  Lee.  His 
vocation  in  life  was  the  prosaic  business  of  sheep-grazing,  though 
much  of  his  time  was  devoted  to  acting  out  the  romantic  dreams 
with  which  his  mind  seems  to  have  been  haunted.  Anxious  to 
prove  his  chivalrous  loyalty  when  Elizabeth  came  to  the  throne, 
he  conceived  the  idea  of  the  hitherto  non-existent  office  of  Royal 
Champion,  with  himself  of  course  as  the  incumbent.  This  office 
he  continued  to  hold  for  more  than  thirty  years,  receiving  later 
the  additional  dignities  of  Master  of  her  Majesty's  Armory  and 
Knight  of  the  Most  Noble  Order.  Annually,  on  the  17th  day  of 
November,  the  anniversary  of  the  accession,  "in  his  great  zeale  and 
earnest  desire  to  eternize  the  glory  of  her  majesties  court,"  he  rode 
into  the  lists  to  prove  by  feats  of  arms  that  the  flower  of  knight- 
hood  still  flourished  in   Elizabeth's   dominions. 

Finally,  on  the  thirty-third  anniversary  of  the  accession  of 
Elizabeth,  when  the  infirmities  of  old  age  would  no  longer  allow 
him  to  perform  the  strenuous  exercises  which  his  office  imposed 
upon  him,  he  made  a  pubHc  resignation,  accompanied  with  much 
elaborate  and  mystic  ceremonial,  in  favor  of  the  Earl  of  Cumber- 
land. These  ceremonies  took  place  in  the  tilt-yard  at  West- 
minster, in  the  presence  of  the  Queen,  the  French  ambassador, 
"many  ladies  and  the  chief  nobilitie. "  At  the  foot  of  the  stairs 
leading  to  the  gallery  where  her  Majesty  sat,  "the  earth  opening 
as  if  by  magic,"  there  appeared  a  pavilion  made  of  white  taffeta, 
"being  in  proportion  like  to  the  sacred  Temple  of  the  Virgins 
Vestal."  At  one  side  stood  an  altar  covered  with  a  cloth  of  gold, 
upon  which  three  candles  were  burning.  Before  the  door  of  the 
temple  stood  a  crowned  pillar  embraced  by  an  eglantine  tree, 
"whereon  was  a  Table,  and  therein  written  (in  letters  of  gold) 
this  prayer  following: 

"Elizae,  etc.,  Piae,  potenti,  faelicissimae  virgini,  fidei,  pacis,  nobilitatis  vindici,  cui 
Deus  ostra,  virtus,  summa  devoverunt  omnia.  Post  tot  annos,  tot  triumphos  animan 
ad  pedes  positurus  tuos,  sacra  sencx  affixit  arma.  Vitam  quietam,  imperium,  famam 
aetemam  precatur  tibi,  sanguine  redempturus  suo.      Ultra  columnas  Herculis  columna 


36  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

moveatur  tua.  Corona  superet  coronas  omnes,  ut  quam  coelum  faclicissime  nascenti 
coronam  dedit,  beatissema  moriens  reportes  coelo.  Summe,  Sancte,  Aeterne,  audi, 
exaudi  Deus.  "'"^ 

The  old  knight  was  then  disarmed  and  offered  up  his  armour  at  the 
foot  of  the  crowned  pillar.  Then  kneeling,  he  presented  to  the 
Queen  the  Earl  of  Cumberland,  as  one  anxious  to  serve  her  in 
the  office  of  Royal  Champion.  Her  Majesty  gratiously  accep- 
ting this  offer,  the  new  aspirant  for  knightly  honors  was  duly  armed 
and  mounted  upon  his  horse.  In  lieu  of  armour  and  helmet,  the 
Old  Knight  then  put  on  "a  side  coat  of  black  velvet  and  a  buttoned 
cap  of  the  countrey  fashion. "  We  are  told  further  that  "for  divers 
days  hee  wore  upon  his  cloake  a  crowne  embroidered,  with  a  cer- 
tainc  motto  or  device,  but  what  his  intention  therein  was,  he  him- 
self e  best  knew."  For  this  occasion  was  written  the  well-known 
poem  beginning,  "His  golden  locks  Time  hath  to  Silver  turn'd," 
etc.,  usually  ascribed  to  Peele,  but  lately  claimed  by  Mr.  Bond  for 
John  Lyly.i«5 

The  romantic  mind  of  this  old  courtier  was  probably  the  source 
of  many  of  the  half  whimsical  fictions  embodied  in  the  enter- 
tainments and  tilt-yard  exhibitions  designed  for  the  amusement  and 
flattery  of  Elizabeth. ^'^'^  He  is  by  no  means  the  least  interesting  of 
the  many  brilliant  figures  that  surrounded  the  person  of  the  Queen, 
and  none  outdid  him  in  simple,  whole-hearted  loyalty.  His  naive 
devotion,  too,  is  said  to  have  been  graciously  acknowledged  by 
Elizabeth,  who  too  often  forgot  the  sacrifices  of  her  more  dis- 
tinguished servants.  Unfortunately  for  his  fame,  his  name  is 
associated  with  one  of  the  contemporary  scandals,  but  this  does 
not  seem  to  have  greatly  impaired  his  popularity  at  Court. ^''^  In 
his  epitaph  we  have  the  summary  of  the  life  of  an  Elizabethan 
cavalier:  "He  gave  himself e  to  Voyage  and  Travaile  into  the 
flourishing  States  of  France,  Italy,  and  Germany,  wher  soon  put- 
ting on  all  those  abilities  that  became  the  backe  of  honour,  es- 
pecially skill  and  proof  in  armes,  he  lived  in  grace,  and  gracing  the 

"*  The  entire  ceremonies  are  described  in  Segar,  Honors  Military  and  Civill, 
(1602)  Bk.  ui.  Ch.  54.     Cited  by  Bond,  Works  of  Lyly,  I,  410-16. 

"5  See  Works  of  John  Lyly,  ed.  by  Bond,  I,  411-12. 

'"^The  Queen's  entertainments  at  Woodstock  (1575)  and  Quarrendon  (1592),  in 
which  he  played  so  important  a  part,  are  reserved  for  discussion  in  another  connection. 

'"'For  several  years,  in  his  old  age,  he  "lived  for  love"  \nth  Anna  Vavasour,  one 
of  the  Maids  of  Honor. 


ROMANTIC  ELEMENTS  IN  THE  ENGLISH  MASK  37 

Courts  of  the  most  renowned  Princes  of  that  war-like  age,  returned 
home  charged  with  the  reputation  of  a  well-firmed  traveller,  and 
adorned  with  those  flowers  of  knighthood, — courtesy,  bounty, 
valour, — which  quickly  gave  forth  their  fruit  ...  as  well  in  the 
fielde  ...  as  also  in  Courte,  where  he  shone  in  all  those  fayer 
partes  [which]  became  his  profession  and  vowes,  honoring  his  highly 
gracious  M"^  with  reysing  those  later  Olympiads  of  her  Court  Justs 
and  Tournaments  .  .  .  wherein  himself  lead  and  triumphed,  carying 
away  great  spojdes  of  grace  from  the  Soveraigne,  and  renown  from 
the  worlde,  for  the  fairest  man  at  amies  and  most  complete  Courtier 
of  his  times"  .   .   .  etc. 

By  virtue  of  his  office  as  Royal  Champion,  Sir  Henry  Lee  was 
usually  the  central  figure  in  those  odd  mixtures  of  Mediaeval 
love-allegory  and  heroic  fiction  which  formed  the  motif  of  the  mar- 
tial exercises  arranged  for  the  amusement  and  flattery  of  the  Queen. 
In  these  later  times,  the  crude  and  gorgeous  pageantry  with  which 
Henry  VIII  was  accustomed  to  introduce  his  jousts  and  tourna- 
ments had  given  place  to  a  simpler  species  of  tilt-yard  fiction  in 
which  the  dramatic  element  w^as  given  a  more  definite  literary 
basis.  This  species  includes  the  challenges  to  combat,  the  cartels 
and  defies,  wherein  the  adventurous  knight  announced  in  high- 
sounding  terms  some  absurd  proposition  of  love  or  war,  the  truth 
of  which  he  proposed  to  establish  by  vanquishing  in  honorable 
combat  all  who  dared  to  question  it.  The  theses  over  which  these 
contests  took  place  were  usually  similar  in  character  to  the  ques- 
tions proposed  for  the  mediaeval  love  debate,  though  in  most 
cases  they  were  so  contrived  as  to  contain  the  point  of  the  compli- 
ment, of  which  the  whole  affair  was  but  the  larger  expression.  A 
fair  sample  of  this  whole  class  of  tilt-yard  literature  is  the  following 
"Cartell  for  a  Challenge": 

<  A  Herald  reads  > 

"To  all  the  Noble  Chosen  and  Hopful  Gentlemen,  in  this  most 
notable  Assemble;  the  strange  forsaken  Knightes  send  greetings: — 

Whereas  the  Question  hath  ben  long  and  often,  and  yett  resteth 
doubtfull  and  undiscussed,  whether  that  w''''  Menne  call  Love 
be  good  or  evill;  And  that  it  is  manifest  that  there  be  manie  wor- 
thie  Knights,  in  this  p'ence,  to  whom  Love  is  most  delightfull, 
and  his  lawes  no  paynes;  I  bring  this  schedule,  to  signifie  to  all  the 
gentlemen  here  that  love  armes,  and  list  to  defend  this  course, 
that  there  be  three  armed  and  unknowen  Knightes,  here  at  hand. 


38  ROMANTIC  DR.\MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

of  one  mind  and  divers  fortunes,  that  with  stroke  of  Arm  and  dynt 
of  sword,  be  come  to  defende  against  all  that  will  maintaine  the 
contrary,  that  Love  is  worse  than  hate,  his  Subjects  worse  than 
slaves,  and  his  Rewarde  worse  than  nought:  And  that  there  is  a 
Lady  that  scorns  Love  and  his  power,  of  more  Virtue  and  greater 
bewtie  than  all  the  Amorouse  Dames  that  be  at  this  day  in  the 
Worlde."io« 

To  French  influence  has  been  attributed  the  improvement  in 
simplicity  and  rationalism  of  these  romantic  ceremonials  at  the 
English  court. ^*^^  French  hterature  of  the  period,  it  is  true,  abounds 
in  models  for  such  tilt-yard  effusions  as  the  one  quoted  above. 
Ronsard,  in  particular,  is  known  to  have  been  popular  in  Eliza- 
bethan court  circles,  and  his  work  may  have  furnished  the  sug- 
gestion for  the  ideas  underlying  some  of  these  performances.  Be- 
sides Ronsard,  Marot,  MeKn  de  Saint  Gelais,  Pliilippe  Desportes, 
and  Jean  Passerot  all  have  left  literary  expressions  of  similar 
chivalric  whimsicalities. 

But  whether  or  not  a  specific  French  influence  be  traced  in  this 
later  tilt-yard  literature,  it  is  certain  that  the  English  Court  in 
its  occasional  festivities  had  for  a  long  time  drawn  largely  upon 
sources  in  romantic  literature  for  its  material.  Serving  generally 
the  occasion  of  balls,  tournaments,  and  other  forms  of  revelry, 
the  mask  turned  to  practical  account  the  romantic  allegories  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  while  the  romances  of  heroic  adventure  fur- 
nished it  with  appropriate  themes  for  the  fictions  of  the  tilt-yard 
and  the  various  other  ceremonials  of  chivalry  so  popular  at  the 
court  of  the  Tudors.  The  possible  significance  of  these  forms  of 
semi-dramatic  activity  in  the  history  of  the  romantic  drama  will 
be  considered  in  the  following  chapter. 

"*  This,  with  several  other  mask  pieces,  was  published  by  W.  Hamper  in  1821, 
as  the  work  of  George  Ferrers,  the  title  of  the  collection  being  "Masques:  performed 
before  Queen  Elizabeth.  From  a  coeval  copy,  in  a  volume  of  manuscript  collections, 
by  Henry  Ferrers."  Mr.  Bond,  on  stylistic  evidence,  attributes  it  to  John  Lyly. 
See  his  edition  of  Lyly's  Works,  I,  410  ff. 

"•  Brotanek,  p.  283  S. 


CHAPTER  II 

The  Influence  of  the  Mask  on  the  Early  English  Court 

Drama 

"The  Tudor  dramatists,"  says  Professor  Gayley,  "did  not 
make  their  art;  they  worked  with  what  they  found,  and  they 
found  a  dramatic  medium  of  expression  to  which  centuries  and 
countless  influences  had  contributed.  "^  In  the  preceding  chapter 
an  attempt  was  made  to  show  the  nature  and  the  extent  of  the 
semi-dramatic  activity  which  manifested  itself  in  the  maskings 
and  pageantry  of  the  English  court.  As  a  result  of  the  historical 
survey  thus  made,  we  are  reminded  that  for  three  hundred  years 
prior  to  the  accession  of  Elizabeth  the  court  had  been  the  center 
of  a  genuine  and  spontaneous,  even  if  primitive,  form  of  mimetic 
endeavor;  that  tradition,  in  an  ever  lengthening  chain,  demanded 
the  celebration  of  significant  events  and  the  observance  of  the 
chief  holidays  of  the  calendar  with  masks,  shows,  and  royal  sports, 
in  which  the  dramatic  element  appeared  in  constantly  increasing 
importance;  and  that  the  inspiration  and  the  matter  for  these 
performances  were  drawn  in  large  part  from  the  most  natural 
and  in  fact  the  only  easily  accessible  source,  the  romantic  Htera- 
ture  and  traditions  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In  traversing  the  period 
from  the  earliest  records  to  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
we  thus  pass  in  review  a  numerous  progeny,  similar  in  origin  and 
purpose,  but  diverse  in  character— grotesque,  fantastic,  specta- 
cular—and all  perhaps  upon  last  analysis  to  be  assigned  a  place 
in  the  dramatic  categories.  The  question  naturally  arises,  whether 
they  were  mere  ephemera,  possessing  no  interest  beyond  the  occa- 
sion that  called  them  forth,  except  to  the  antiquarian  and  the 
student  of  Kulturgeschichte,  or  whether  a  positive  influence  can 
be  assigned  to  them  in  the  forward  movement  toward  an  artistic 
and  literary  drama.  The  latter  is  undoubtedly  the  case.  Among 
the  many  hidden  springs  that  contributed  to  swefl  the  flood  of 
Elizabethan  dramatic  Hterature,  the  "mummings  and  monstrous 
disguisings"of  preceding  ages  are  not  the  least  important. 

What  of  vital  importance  to  the  mature  drama  can  be  speci- 
fically claimed  as  coming  from  a  source  apparently  so  unpromising? 

^Representative  English  Comedies,  Vol.  I,  p.  xxiv. 


40  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

To  be  forced  to  meet  the  question  in  precisely  this  form  would 
be  to  obscure  somewhat  its  real  bearing,  but,  even  in  that  case, 
the  reply  might  confidently  be,  that  from  such  a  source  came 
something — not  much,  perhaps,  but  certainly  a  httle — of  all  that 
is  essential  to  the  mature  drama.  A  consideration  of  the  historical 
relations  between  the  true  secular  drama  and  the  various  forms 
of  mimetic  activity  which  for  convenience  are  generically  included 
in  the  term  "mask,"  will  show  at  what  points  the  influence  of  the 
latter  was  exerted. 

As  Professor  Gayley  reminds  us,  the  Ehzabethan  dramatist 
did  not  begin  ah  initio,  but  directed  to  new  and  more  artistic  ends 
the  dramatic  impulses  that  had  been  expressing  themselves  more 
or  less  sporadically  during  the  preceding  ages.  The  distinct 
lines  along  which  his  inheritance  had  descended  were  those  leading 
to  the  large  body  of  ecclesiastical  and  didactic  drama,  to  a  much 
less  extensive  body  of  secular  farce,  to  the  dramatic  element  in 
the  people's  jMa}'  games  and  other  popular  celebrations,  and, 
finally,  to  the  various  quasi-dramatic  forms  v/hich  grew  up  spon- 
taneously in  the  congenial  atmosphere  of  the  court.  These  are 
all  roughly  contemporary  species  of  the  dramatic  kind,  and  each 
of  them  possessed  characteristics  which  helped  in  the  progress 
tovv'ard  the  Hterary  drama.  It  is  proposed  in  the  present  instance 
to  single  out  the  influence  of  the  court  performance  for  special 
consideration. 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  dramatic  instinct  of  the  English 
race  which  manifested  itself  in  the  Latin  tropes  of  the  tenth  cen- 
tury and  which  continued  in  the  main  to  follow  ecclesiastical 
channels  for  the  next  five  hundred  years,  should  express  itself 
at  last  in  a  truly  secular  drama.  A  condition  of  such  transforma- 
tion, however,  was  the  recognition  that  sources  other  than  the 
old  scriptural-hturgical  and  didactic  matter  might  be  utilized 
for  dramatic  purposes.  This  seemingly  ob\aous  conclusion  was 
arrived  at  only  gradually,  hov/ever,  and  appears  to  have  been 
borne  in  on  the  collective  consciousness  from  several  sources. 
The  first  of  these  was  a  surviving  tradition  of  Latin  comedy  which 
during  the  Middle  Ages  appeared  both  in  the  form  of  a  narrative 
of  Plautine  and  Terentian  matter  conducted  by  means  of  dialogue, 
and  as  Latin  farce  interlude,  deahng  with  native  material,  the  latter 
probably  being  very  limited  in  extent.  Along  with  this  surviving 
classical  tradition  was  a  primitive  folk  drama,  the  precise  impor- 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MASK  ON  THE  ENGLISH  COURT  DRAMA         41 

tance  of  which  it  is  very  difficult  to  determine,  and  which  may 
itself  have  possessed  a  religious  significance  in  remote  pagan  times. 
From  either  or  both  of  these  sources,  or  from  the  ecclesiastical 
drama  itself,  could  have  come  the  suggestion  of  the  secular  drama, 
but  neither  could  have  pointed  the  way  to  a  body  of  material 
sufficient  in  scope  and  suitable  in  character  for  the  support  of  such 
a  drama.  This  important  service  may  be  justly  attributed  to 
the  rudimentary  forms  of  dramatic  activity  which  had  their  incep- 
tion in  the  social  festixdties  and  martial  games  of  the  Court. 
We  have  seen  how  everywhere  in  Western  Europe  the  exploits 
of  legendary  heroes  were  represented  upon  the  tournament  field 
and  the  tilt-yard;  how  in  the  England  of  the  fourteenth  century 
the  associates  of  Mortimer  and  Edward  III  imagined  themselves 
to  be  living  in  the  mystical  atmosphere  of  King  Arthur's  Court, 
assuming  the  names  and  pretending  to  follow  the  ideals,  of  its  most 
famous  characters;  how  m  some  instances,  as  in  the  famous  meeting 
at  Hamsur-Somme,  in  1282,  and  in  the  elaborate  entertainment  pre- 
pared for  the  Emperor  Charles  V  in  which  the  future  Philip  II 
participated,  gigantic  dramas  from  heroic  romance  were  represented, 
with  a  tournament  field  for  a  stage  and  with  wonderfully  effective 
impressions  of  realism  and  verisimilitude. ^  Such  traditions,  more- 
over, we  have  seen  sur\aving  at  the  English  Court  until  the 
end  of  the  reign  of  Ehzabeth,  and  exhibiting  themselves  in  the 
vagaries  and  fantastic  practices  of  the  Queen's  Champion,  Sir 
Henry  Lee.  The  most  prolific  source  of  material  for  Court  masks 
and  disguisings  was,  however,  not  the  mediaeval  romance  of 
adventure,  but  the  romantic  allegories  which  grew  up  about  the 
conception  of  the  court  of  love.  On  the  continent,  as  we  have  seen, 
themes  of  such  character  were  represented  in  pageant  and  pan- 
tomime from  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century.  In  England 
they  are  at  least  as  old  as  the  time  of  Richard  II.  The  romantic 
atmosphere  of  the  early  Tudor  Court  was  especially  favorable 
to  such  exhibitions,  and  here  they  enjoyed  high  favor.  We  have 
seen  how,  at  the  Courts  of  Henry  VII,  and  more  especially  Henry 
VHI,  they  were  carried  out  with  great  elaboration,  care,  expense, 
and  probably  with  no  small  degree  of  artistic  success.  The  same 
hoary  traditions  we  see  emerging  again,  somewhat  to  our  surprise, 
after  Elizabeth  had  been  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  on  the  throne, 
and  being  made  by  such  cultured  and  scholarly  courtiers  as  Fulke 
2  See  above,  Chap.  I,  pp.  28  ff. 


42  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Greville  and  Sir  Philip  Sidney  to  serve  the  purposes  of  royal  com- 
pliment  and  flattery. 

The  first  approach  to  the  materials  of  romantic  secular  litera- 
ture for  dramatic  purposes  was  made,  then,  by  the  court  enter- 
tainment or  festival  in  search  of  themes  for  masks  and  pageants. 
The  dramatic  element  in  these  exhibitions,  it  is  true,  was  not  al- 
ways prominent,  but  the  mimetic  impulse  was  at  work,  and  was 
taking  a  direction,  too,  in  which  it  had  previously  had  very  Httle 
exercise.  The  matter  of  the  popular  farce  was  too  limited  in  range 
and  imaginative  possibilities  to  allow  it  free  play.  The  primitive 
folk  drama  contained  very  potent  elements  for  general  dramatic 
evolution,  but  it,  too,  lacked  dignity  and  the  approval  of  cultural 
tradition.  The  opening  of  a  distinct  literary  source  by  these 
court  festivals  and  entertainments  brought  with  it  entirely  new 
possibilites.  It  meant  not  only  that  an  approach  had  been  made 
to  the  presentation  in  dramatic  form  of  themes  of  simple  secular 
interest,  but  that  for  the  future  secular  drama  the  way  had  been 
found  to  the  scenic,  the  spectacular,  the  wonderful — in  short, 
to  dramatic  romanticism. 

It  is  worthy  of  emphasis  also  that  the  impulse  which  called 
these  court  shows  and  masks  into  being  was  purely  artistic.  The 
purpose  of  almost  all  the  contemporary  species  of  dramatic  effort 
was  instructive,  or  didactic  and  reformatory.  Here  was  an  abun- 
dance of  rudimentary  dramatic  activity  that  was  intended  only 
to  please  and  thrill.  Crude  and  extravagant  as  some  of  them 
undoubtedly  were,  and  eloquent  of  the  barbarous  tastes  of  the 
people  who  witnessed  and  acted  them,  they  mark,  nevertheless, 
a  distinct  advance  in  the  direction  of  an  artistic  drama.  The 
pitifully  primitive  aesthetic  conceptions  betrayed  by  the  grotesque 
animal  masks  of  Edward  III,  and  two  centuries  later,  by  the  similar 
ones  of  Edward  VI,  are  not  to  be  dismissed  as  merely  absurd. 
They  bear  somewhat  the  same  relation  to  the  dramatic  art  of 
Hamlet  or  Lear  that  the  cave  man's  club  bears  to  the  modern 
rifle.  They  not  only  represent  the  artistic  instinct  at  work; 
they  themselves  are  the  very  stuff  out  of  which  romantic  art  is 
made.  They  foster  the  sense  that  delights  in  the  wonderful  and 
strange  —  "the  admyracion  menne  have  for  the  thynges  seldome 
seen."^  The  mask  began  and  continued  to  be  an  independent  mem- 
ber of  the  dramatic  species.    These  early  shows  did  not  "evolve" 

'  Hoby's  Courtier,  p.  55. 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MASK  ON  THE  ENGLISH  COURT  DRAMA         43 

through  higher  forms  into  the  artistic  drama,  any  more  than  the 
offensive  and  defensive  weapons  of  primitive  man  evolved  into  mod- 
ern fire-arms.  But  in  each  case,  man,  in  endeavoring  to  supply  his 
wants,  worked  continuously  through  the  ages  to  something  better. 
In  the  court  masks  and  disguisings  we  find  dramatic  activity  no 
longer  directed  to  ecclesiastical  or  didactic  ends,  but  undertaken 
for  its  own  sake ;  and  when  once  the  distinctly  artistic  attitude 
was  taken,  the  way  was  opened  for  the  entrance  of  the  artistic 
imagination,  and  the  consideration  of  aesthetic  values  and  interests, 
all  of  which  were  matters  of  tremendous  importance  to  the  future 
history  of  the  drama. 

Thus  the  early  semi-dramatic  revels  and  festivals  at  the  English 
Court  not  only  pointed  the  way  to  a  source  of  material  upon  which 
the  secular  romantic  drama  might  draw  during  the  formative 
stages  of  its  existence,  but  they  were  also  largely  instrumental 
in  awakening  and  developing  the  aesthetic  tastes  and  interest  by 
which  that  drama  should  be  controlled.  As  far  as  the  dramatic 
realm  is  concerned,  they  afforded  the  first  rude  exercises  of  the 
romantic  imagination  directed  to  purely  artistic  ends.  The  idea 
that  a  secular  purpose  might  underlie  dramatic  effort  was  of  course 
not  absolutely  novel,  but  it  had  been  given  only  slight  attention 
by  any  distinctly  cultural  group.  The  inborn  instinct  which  impels 
to  artistic  creation  had  been  confined  mainly  to  the  primitive  folk 
drama,  where  it  had  asserted  itself  with  considerable  vigor.  On 
the  whole,  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  by  the  close  of  the 
first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  approach  which  had  been 
made  toward  the  conception  of  the  drama  as  an  end  in  itself  had 
been  largely  by  way  of  the  dramatic  element  in  court  masks  and 
disguisings.  These,  however,  had  been  an  incitement  to  a  genuinely 
artistic,  even  if  naive,  productivity,  and  had  given  opportunity 
for  the  development  of  saner  judgment  and  more  aesthetic  taste  in 
matters  of  a  dramatic  nature. 

It  would  doubtless  be  easy  to  overrate  the  importance  of  these 
performances  in  promoting  the  development  of  the  purely  technical 
elements  of  the  drama.  It  is  freely  admitted  that  their  dramatic 
quality  was  seldom  given  prominence,  being  subordinated,  as  was 
proper  in  the  mask,  to  the  scenic  and  the  spectacular.  It  is  fur- 
thermore true  that  in  the  case  of  the  earlier  ''shows"  and  ludi 
this  quality  was  excessively  crude  and  primitive.  But  passing  by 
such  exhibitions,   whose  only  service  to  the  drama  consisted  in 


'44  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

fostering  a  rude  sense  of  the  romantic  and,  possibly,  in  suggesting 
a  future  comedy  of  the  grotesque,  we  come,  as  early  as  the  beginning 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  a  type  of  Court  performance  which 
undoubtedly  did  exercise  an  influence  of  considerable  importance 
in  the  development  of  dramatic  technique.  This  of  course  is  the 
attempt  to  express  a  romantic  theme  by  a  combination  of  pageant 
and  pantomime,  of  which  we  found  numerous  instances  at  the 
Courts  of  Henry  VII  and  Henry  VIII. 

The  regular  romantic  drama  will  have  to  acknowledge  affilia- 
tion with  these  "by-forms"  in  other  respects  than  mere  similarity  in 
theme  and  spirit,  for  in  those  acted  fictions  of  the  banquet-hall 
and  tilt-yard  all  the  methods  of  the  regular  drama  are  clearly 
foreshadowed.  Here,  for  instance,  was  ample  opportunity  for 
training  in  the  conception  of  dramatic  situation.  The  incidents 
which  the  revellers  at  the  Court  of  Henry  VIII  chose  for  panto- 
mimic presentation  as  a  setting  for  the  tournament  or  ball  really 
meant  something.  They  possessed  significance  and  unity,  and 
were  capable  of  logical  development  in  the  necessary  sequence 
of  motive,  action,  and  result.  The  Knights  of  the  Mount  of 
Love,  with  erotic  designs,  send  their  ambassadors  to  the  Castle 
of  Maidens.  The  maidens  "give  their  small  answer  of  utterly 
refuse,"  thus  introducing  the  necessary  obstacle,  the  conflict  of 
wills,  whereupon  the  knights  assault  the  castle  and  capture  the 
maidens.  A  mariner,  in  the  good  ship  Fame,  arrives  at  the  Court 
of  Henry  VIII  in  quest  of  glory  through  noble  deeds  of  arms.  He 
is  fittingly  answered,  and  a  tournament  is  arranged  to  give  him  the 
opportunity  for  which  he  is  searching.  We  find  in  these  and 
many  other  similar  instances  the  essential  elements  of  a  rude  plot, 
consisting  of  central  motive,  situations,  and  progression  through 
acting  characters  to  a  more  or  less  definite  solution.  Of  course 
nothing  complex  can  be  undertaken  in  the  analysis  of  motives 
and  emotions  as  long  as  the  means  of  expression  and  communi- 
cation consist  chiefly  in  pantomime.  But  in  the  personification 
of  the  various  emotions  allied  to  the  passion  of  love  are  dimly 
suggested  a  large  number  of  the  plot  resources  upon  which  the 
romantic  dramatist  of  the  future  was  to  draw.  In  the  gradual 
movement  forward,  too,  the  scenic  and  the  spectacular  are  allowed 
to  ursurp  less  of  the  interest,  and  mimetic  opportunities  for  the 
characters  are  offered.  This  is  seen  in  comparing  the  various  in- 
stances in  which  the  siege-of-the-castle  motive  was  used.     In  the 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MASK  ON  THE  ENGLISH  COURT  DRA]VL\        45 

first  instance  examined,  that  of  1501,  the  reliance  seems  to  have 
been  almost  entirely  on  pantomime,  the  only  indication  of  an 
interchange  of  speech  being  that  the  ladies  "gave  their  small 
answer  of  utterly  refuse  and  knowledge  of  any  such  company." 
When  acted  before  Elizabeth  in  1583,  however,  the  old  theme  had 
taken  on  important  literary  embellishments,  the  whole  circle  of 
Court  poets  having  contributed  to  its  decoration.  The  singing 
of  the  challenges  and  responses  by  the  pages  of  the  opposing  knights 
may  possibly  be  a  suggestion  borrowed  from  popular  usage  in 
connection  with  this  motive. 

In  the  actual,  portrayal  of  character  the  mask  could  of  course 
do  httle.  The  action  was  too  rudimentary  and  the  means  of 
expression  too  hmited  to  afford  opportunity  for  the  representation 
of  anything  approaching  emotional  or  psychological  subtlety. 
But  despite  this  great  handicap,  something  must  be  credited  to 
these  spectacular  exhibitions  of  the  Court  in  the  progress  toward 
vital  dramatic  characterization.  In  the  first  place,  such  per- 
formances certainly  aided  in  developing  a  sense  of  indi\adual 
characteristics.  Romantic  abstractions  from  the  court  of  love 
allegories  were,  as  we  have  seen,  introduced  in  large  numbers, 
thus  providing  an  array  of  dramatic  personages  for  the  realm  of 
romance  analogous  to  the  dramatis  personae  of  the  moralities. 
These,  of  course,  were  mere  flat  figures  rather  than  complex 
psychological  units,  but  they  came  in  stamped  with  the 
name  of  a  quality,  and  their  parts  in  the  rudimentary 
action  were  determined  by  motives  consistent  with,  and 
growing  out  of,  this  quality.  They  thus  become  in  a 
measure  dynamic,  acting  upon  the  general  situation  and  being 
acted  upon  by  it  in  turn.  But  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  have 
a  certain  element  of  psychological  probabiHty  to  preserve,  they 
are  figures  of  one  dimension  instead  of  three.  They  approximate 
the  t>pe,  but  not  the  individual.  Exhibiting  only  single  traits 
in  the  complex  of  character,  they  may,  in  a  sense,  be  thought  of 
as  emotional  constants  in  the  personal  equation.  However,  their 
exploitation  in  mimetic  forms  is  significant  for  the  future  of  the 
drama.  It  shows  the  awakening  of  a  sense  for  subjective  values 
in  the  romantic  relations  of  Ufe  similar  to  that  which  the  didactic 
play  was  cultivating  in  its  moral  and  ethical  relations.  Romantic 
interests  cease,  therefore,  to  depend  solely  upon  the  objective  and 
the  external,  upon  the  unusual  incident  and  the  sensational  spec- 


46  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

tacle.     The  romantic  imagination  proceeds  from  the  outer  to  the 
inner  life,  thus  marking  the  advent  of  new  and,  to  the  modern 
mind,  far  more  effective  forms  of  romantic  appeal.     The  old  themes 
of  the  heroic  and  the  supernatural  lay  quite  without  the  limits 
of  ordinary  experience.     These  newer  fictions  of  love  and  passion 
dealt  with  matters  that  touched  hfe  much  more  intimately,  and 
their  significance  for  the  vital  drama  is  correspondingly  greater. 
The  dependence  of  the  mask  upon  costume  and  pantomime 
in  the  effort  to  suggest  personality  insured  the  continuance  of  the 
mediaeval  fashion  of  symbolical  expression,  but  it  happened  not 
infrequently  that  the  symbol  took  the  form  of  a  character  from 
history — or  at  least  from  what  the  Middle  Ages  regarded  as  history 
— who  should  stand  as  the  embodiment  of  the  abstract  quality. 
Hence  the  wide  popularity  of  that  carefully  correlated  group  of 
manikins  known  as  the  "Nine  Worthies."     This  might  be  taken 
as  an  early  attempt  to  avoid  the  fatal  thinness  of  the  abstraction; 
and  if  so,  we  shall  have  to  admit  that  it  achieved  some  small  degree 
of  success,  for  undoubtedly  it  would  be  easier  for  an  impersonator 
to  suggest  a  shadow  of  individuality  for  Arthur  or  Godfrey  of 
Bouillon  than  for  "Dous  Regart"  or  "Joyeus  Tenser."     But  the 
time  for  the  real  manifestation  of  character,  to  say  nothing  of  its 
analysis  and  development,  was  far  in  the  future.     It  is  enough 
to  claim  for  the  early  masks  and  disguisings  that  they  made  a 
feeble  beginning.     With  every  form  of  thought  and  expression 
under  the  sway  of  allegory,  there  was  small  hope  that  the  incipient 
romantic  drama  would  break  the  spell,  certainly  not  while  carrying 
the  handicap  of  symbolism  as  its  only  means  of  expression.     In 
one  respect,  however,  this  limitation  may  have  operated  to  advan- 
tage.    Being  incapable  of  subtlety,  the  mask  always  ran  the  risk 
of  not  being  understood.     Only  the  salient,  the  broadly  significant, 
attributes  of  personality  could  be  suggested;  and  the  effort  to  be 
intelligible    probably    led  to  a  closer  observation  and  a  clearer 
perception   of   the   essential   elements   of   character. 

The  most  important  service,  however,  which  the  early  mask 
rendered  in  bridging  the  gap  between  the  ecclesiastical  and  didactic 
plays  and  the  artistic  literary  drama  of  the  future  was  not  in  con- 
tributing to  the  improvement  of  the  technical  factors  of  the  drama- 
tic art,  but  in  fostering  a  taste  for  such  a  drama  and  in  providing 
an  atmosphere  favorable  to  its  development.  The  same  demands 
which  called  into  existence  these  dramatic  entertainments  at  the 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  MASK  ON  THE  ENGLISH  COURT  DRAMA      1:7 

Court,  and  the  same  tastes  by  which  such  performances  were 
controlled,  resulted  at  last  in  completely  freeing  dramatic  activity 
from  the  trammels  of  the  miracle  and  the  morality  and  in  directing 
it  solely  toward  artistic  ends.  The  first  chapter  in  the  history  of 
the  secular  drama  in  England,  therefore,  is  in  a  large  measure  a 
history  of  the  tastes  and  fashions  of  the  Court.  That  these  tastes 
were  buoyantly  and  aggressively  romantic  we  have  had  abundant 
evidence,  covering  the  period  from  the  accession  of  the  Tudor 
dynasty  until  the  closing  years  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  In  the 
following  chapter  it  is  proposed  to  show  how  the  budding  romantic 
drama,  fed  thus  from  the  soil  of  favoring  tradition  and  warmed  by 
the  sun  of  royal  patronage,  grew  rapidly  to  a  period  of  vigorous 
and  fruitful  development. 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Early  Romantic  Drama  of  the  Court 

We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  the  Elizabethan  romantic 
drama  as  drawing  its  plot  material  almost  exclusively  from  foreign 
sources,  and  as  finding  its  ultimate  affiliation,  as  far  as  temper 
and  spirit  are  concerned,  with  the  influences  which  moulded  the 
Renaissance.  For  the  period  during  which  the  drama  was  rapidly 
approaching  maturity,  this  is  undoubtedly  true.  The  way  to  the 
inexhaustible  fund  of  romantic  motive  and  incident  in  the  literature 
of  Italy  and  Spain  had  already  been  found  before  Shakespeare 
made  his  appearance;  and  in  the  work  of  his  predecessors  are  dis- 
cernible some  traces  of  that  matchless  technical  skill  whereby 
the  borrowings  from  these  sources  were  completely  transformed  in 
an  atmosphere  of  imaginative  idealism  into  the  distinctive  species 
of  dramatic  production  with  which  his  name  will  always  be  asso- 
ciated. But  the  romantic  drama  was  not  the  creation  of  Shake- 
speare, nor  even  of  the  men  whose  work  belongs  to  the  decade  imme- 
diately preceding  him;  and  the  raw  material  upon  which  those  who 
first  sought  to  satisfy  the  demand  for  a  secular  drama  of  the  roman- 
tic .genre  served  the  period  of  their  apprenticeship  was  very  dif- 
-  ferent  in  character  from  the  Italian  story  of  intrigue  or  the  exotic 
Renaissance  pastoral.  Long  before  the  possibihties  of  these 
sources  had  been  more  than  suggested,  a  romantic  drama  which, 
whatever  may  have  been  its  other  characteristics,  w^as  not  lacking 
in  vigor  or  vitality,  had  managed  to  subsist  upon  such  materials 
as  were  available.  We  have  seen  how  the  native  or  the  long 
naturalized  literature  was  drawn  upon  for  the  early  Tudor  mask 
and  court  entertainment.  The  romantic  tastes  and  traditions 
thus  fostered  undoubtedly  proved  one  of  the  strongest  factors  in 
creating  among  the  courtly  group  a  demand  for  the  regular  drama 
and  in  suggesting  motive  and  incident  for  dramatic  presentation. 
Without  doubt,  too,  analogous  influences  were  bringing  into  exis- 
tence a  vigorous  popular  dtama  of  the  same  general  character,  but 
unfortunately  we  are  practically  destitute  of  sources  of  informa- 
tion bearing  upon  the  formative  stages  of  its  existence.  So  the 
first  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  romantic  secular  drama  in  Eng- 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT  49 

land  has  of  necessity  to  be  written  from  the  rather  meager  records 
kept  by  the  Office  of  the  Revels  at  Court. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  early  drama  drew  so  freely  upon  the 
vast  fund  of  heroic  and  romantic  legend  which  had  accumulated 
during  the  Middle  Ages,  it  is  perhaps  worth  while  to  inquire  briefly 
into  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  surviving  interest  which  it  still 
possessed  for  the  England  of  the  Renaissance.  We  shall  not  be 
surprised  to  find  the  old  hterature  fallen  somewhat  into  disrepute. 
In  the  first  place,  it  was  almost  entirely  an  expression  of  the  spir- 
it of  feudalism  and  chivalry;  and  since  the  social  and  intellectual 
conditions  out  of  which  it  grew  had  disappeared  with  the  passing 
of  those  institutions,  it  had  lost  in  a  large  measure  the  hold  upon 
the  minds  and  imaginations  of  men  which  had  once  given  it  sig- 
nificance. In  the  light  of  the  new  culture,  too,  it  appeared  strange 
and  uncouth.  Its  formlessness  and  extravagance  invited  the  ri- 
dicule of  those  who  had  felt  the  chastening  influence  of  Greek  and 
Latin  hterature,  and  by  the  humanists  generally  it  was  contemp- 
tuously regarded  as  the  rude  imaginings  of  an  age  of  barbarism. 
In  another  quarter  also  the  old  Hterature  encountered  enemies. 
As  part  of  the  heritage  of  mediaevaHsm,  it  was  associated  in  some 
minds  with  monks  and  monasteries,  and  so  it  came  in  for  a  share 
of  the  bitter  abuse  which  the  champions  of  the  Reformation  heaped 
upon  all  things  that  bore  a  taint  of  Catholicism.  Critics  of  the 
latter  school,  however,  are  for  obvious  reasons  even  more  uncom- 
promising in  their  hostiHty  to  the  literature  and  ideals  of  con- 
temporary Italy  than  to   those  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

A  typical  expression  of  the  animosity  which  Puritan  and  Huma- 
nist alike  entertained  toward  the  old  popular  romantic  hterature 
is  the  familiar  diatribe  contained  in  Roger  Ascham's  Schoolmaster,^ 
but  Ascham's  vitriolic  language  sounds  very  much  as  if  it  had 
borrowed  some  of  its  intensity  from  similar  expressions  of  the  early 
humanists.  The  fashion  of  denouncing  the  old  romances  seems  to 
have  been  set  by  Erasmus,  who  characterizes  tales  of  Arthurs  and 
Lancelots  as  "fabulae  stultae  et  aniles."^  "Nothing  hinders," 
he  contends,  "  that  a  boy  learn  a  pretty  story  from  the  ancient  poets, 
or  a  memorable  tale  from  history,  just  as  readily  as  the  stupid  and 

1  Cf.  The  Schoolmaster,  Arber's  Reprints,  p.  80.  The  passage  may  be  found  in 
Gregory-  Smith's  Elirabcthan  Crilkal  Essays,  Vol.  I,  pp.  3-4. 

-W.  H.  Woodward,  Erasmus  concerning  the  Aim  and  Method  of  Education,  Camb 
Univ.  Press,  1904,  p.  114. 


50  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

vulgar  ballad  or  the  old  wives'  fairy  rubbish  such  as  most  chil- 
dren are  steeped  in  nowaday."^  An  equally  hostile  critic  was  the 
Spanish  humanist  Vives,  whom  Henry  VIII  brought  to  the  Eng- 
lish court  as  tutor  to  the  Princess  Mary.  Vives  expresses  a  moral 
as  well  as  intellectual  repugnance  to  the  Uterature  and  the  customs 
of  chivalry.  They  are  both  vicious  and  silly,  according  to  his 
view.  The  indebtedness  of  Ascham's  famous  denunciation  is 
seen  in  the  parallelism  in  language  and  sentiment  to  the  following 
passage  from  Vives:  "There  is  a  use  nowadays  worse  than  amongst 
the  pagans,  that  books  written  in  our  mother  tongues  that  be  made 
but  for  idle  men  and  women  to  read  have  none  other  matter  but 
of  love  and  war:  of  the  which  books  I  think  it  shall  not  need  to 
give  any  precepts.  If  I  speak  unto  Christian  folk,  what  need  I 
to  tell  what  a  mischief  is  toward,  when  straw  and  dry  wood  is  cast 
into  the  fire."-*  He  would  prohibit  by  law  the  reading  of  "those 
ungracious  books,  such  as  be  in  my  country  in  Spain,  the  Amadis, 
Floris  and  Tristan,  and  Celestina  the  bawd,  mother  of  naughti- 
ness; in  France,  Lancelot  du  Lac,  Paris  and  Vienna,  Panthus  and 
Sidonia  and  Melusine,  and  here  in  Flanders,  the  histories  of  Flo- 
rice  and  Blaunchfleur ,  Leonella  and  Canamorus,  Pyramus  and  Thisbe. 
In  England,  Parthenope,  Generides,  Hippomedon,  Willia?n  and  Mel- 
yor,  Lihiiis  and  Arthur,  Guy,  Bevis,  and  many  others."" 

With  the  first  of  the  reformers  thus  arrayed  in  hostility  against 
all  forms  of  romantic  literature,  and  particularly  against  the  roman- 
ces of  chivalry,  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  they  would  grow  in 
favor  as  classical  culture  became  more  general  and  the  movement 
toward  Puritanism  gained  headway.  The  Puritan,  "E.  D.," 
author  of  the  "Brief  and  Necessary  Instruction,"  printed  in  1572, 
laments  the  survival  of  the  literature  of  Popery  in  the  customary 
strain.  "What  a  multitude  of  bookes,"  he  says,  "full  of  synne 
and  abominations,  have  now  filled  the  world!  Nothing  so  childish, 
nothing  so  vaine,  nothing  so  wanton,  nothing  so  ydle,  which  is 
not  both  boldly  printed  and  plausibly  taken.  So  that  herein  we 
have  fulfilled  the  wickednes  of  our  forefathers  and  overtaken  them 
in  their  syns.  They  had  their  spiritual  enchauntmentes,  in  which 
they  were  bewytched,  Bevis  of  Hampton,  Guy  of  Warwike,  Arthur 

^Woodward,  Erasmus,  p.  214. 

*  Vives  and  the  Renaissance  Education  of  Women,  ed.  by  Foster  Watson,  New  York, 
1912,  pp.  57-8. 

'  Vives,  ed.  Watson,  pp.  58-9. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         51 

of  the  round  table,  Huon  of  Burdcaux,  Oliver  of  the  Castle,  the 
four  sonnes  of  Amand,  and  a  great  many  others  of  such  childish 
follye.  And  yet  more  vanitie  than  these,  the  witles  devices  of 
Gargantua,  Howleglas,  Esop,  Robyn  Hood,  Adam  Bel,  Frier  Rush, 
The  Fools  of  Gotham,  and  a  thousand  such  other.  And  yet  of 
all  the  residue  the  most  dronken  imaginations,  with  which  they 
so  defiled  their  Festival  and  high  holy-daies,  their  Legendawry, 
their  Saintes  lyves,  their  tales  of  Robyn  Goodfellow,  and  of  manie 
other  Spirites,  which  Satan  had  made,  Hell  had  printed,  and  were 
warranted  unto  sale  under  the  Popes  priviledge,  to  kindle  in  mens 
hartes  the  sparkes  of  superstition,  that  at  last  it  might  flame  out  into 
the  fires  of  Purgatorie.  "'^ 

Similiar  attacks  upon  the  older  romantic  literature  were  made 
with  comparative  frequency,  not  only  by  avowed  Puritans,  but 
by  those  who  wished  to  see  it  supplanted  by  the  Hterature  of  classi- 
cal antiquity.  Gosson,^  Nash,^  and  Francis  Meres^  all  call  the 
familiar  roll  of  romance  heroes,  and  speak  of  them  with  the  same 
contemptuous  disapproval.  Occasionally  an  apologetic  voice  is 
heard  in  their  defence.  Sidney  concedes  that  "Orlando  Furioso 
and  honest  King  Arthur  will  never  displease  a  soldier. "^'^  Putten- 
ham,  the  author  of  The  Arte  of  English  Poesie,  confesses  to  having 
"written  for  pleasure  a  litle  brief  Romance  or  historical  ditty.  "^^ 
John  Taylor,  the  water-poet,  declares — with  possibly  an  ironic 
intent,  it  must  be  admitted — that  the  legendary  heroes  of  old  are 
the  world's  example  of  martial  valor.  "  In  all  ages  and  countries, " 
he  says,  "it  hath  ever  bin  knowne  that  famous  men  have  flourished, 
whose  worthy  Actions  and  Eminency  of  placj  have  ever  bene  as  con- 
spicuous Beacons  burning  and  blazing  to  the  Spectators'  view, 
the  sparkes  and  flames  whereof  have  sometimes  kindled  courage 
in  the  most  coldest  and  most  efi'eminate  cowards."^"  A  vigorous 
and  able,  though  long  deferred,  reply  to  the  charges  of  barbarism 
brought  by  over  zealous  classicists  against  the  literature  and  cul- 

*  This  interesting  preface  is  referred  to  by  Dr.  Furnivall  in  his  Captain  Cox's 
Ballads  (p.  xiv).  It  is  reprinted  in  part  in  the  Shakespeare  Jahrbuch,  vol.  XL.  pp. 
228-9. 

'  Plays  Confuted,  Cf.  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  English  Drama  and  Stage  (Roxburghe  Library). 

^  Anatomie  of  Absurditic,  Smith,  Eliz.  Crit.  Essays,  I,  322-3. 

'  Palladis    Tamla,    Smith,   II,   308. 

^"Defense  of  Poesie  (1787)  p.  55. 

»  Cf.  Smith,  Eliz.  Crit.  Essays,  II,  43-4. 

*^  Quoted  by  S.  H.  Lee,  edition  of  Huon  of  Bordeaux,  p.  xlviii. 


52  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

ture  of  the  Middle  Ages  is  found  in  Samuel  Daniel's  Defense  of 
Rhyme  (1603). 

The  frequency  of  the  attacks  upon  the  romances  of  chivalry 
and  other  types  of  mediaeval  fiction  is  sufficient  evidence  that 
they  still  enjoyed  a  pubHc  among  the  Elizabethans  in  spite  of  the 
scorn  of  Puritans  and  classicists.  There  is  no  doubt,  however, 
that  it  was  in  the  main  an  apprentice,  a  distinctly  bourgeois  public. 
As  long  as  they  circulated  only  in  manuscript,  they  remained  the 
particular  possession  of  the  aristocracy,  but  with  the  introduction 
of  printing  came  a  demand  for  reading  matter  which  Caxton, 
Wynkyn  de  Worde,  Pynson,  Copland,  and  others  sought  to  satisfy 
with  copious  draughts  from  the  fountains  of  Mediaeval  romance. 
The  aristocratic  heroes  consequently  lost  much  of  their  exclu- 
siveness,  and  exchanged  the  limited  patronage  of  the  nobility 
for  an  infinitely  larger  circle  of  such  whole-hearted  admirers  as  the 
Warwickshire  stone-mason.  Captain  Cox."  We  are  not  to  suppose, 
however,  that  they  ceased  entirely  to  interest  men  of  education 
and  culture.  The  estimation  in  which  they  were  held  during  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  eminent 
pubHcist  and  chancellor.  Lord  Berners,  considered  his  time  fitting- 
ly employed  in  turning  into  English  The  Castle  of  Love,  Arthur 
of  Little  Britian,  and  the  tremendously  popular  and  influential 
Huon  of  Bordeaux.  But  the  atmosphere  of  sensationalism  and 
stirring  adventure  in  the  romances  of  chivalry  recommended  them 
particularly  to  the  masses  of  Elizabethan  England,  and  they  were 
evidently  bought  and  read  with  great  avidity.  Fourteen  editions, 
or  more  exactly,  reissues,  of  Hiwn  of  Bordeaux  are  counted  between 
the  first  pubHcation  of  Lord  Berners'  translation,  around  1530, 
and  the  end  of  the  century.  Hazfitt  lists  thirteen  extant  editions 
of  Bevis  of  Hampton,  nine  of  which  belong  to  the  Tudor  era.  Guy 
was  the  hero  of  four  romances  and  a  drama.  The  latter  was  not 
printed  until  1661,  it  is  true,  but  its  composition  was  probably 
not  later  than  1600.  As  the  sixteenth  century  drew  to  a  close, 
the  interest  of  the  pubHc  in  fiction  of  the  mediaeval  heroic  type 
seems  to  have  undergone  no  abatement.  An  examination  of  the 
various  bibliographers'  manuals  shows  that  all  the  older  native 
romances  and  those  introduced  from  France  during  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries  were  as  attractive  to  the  enterprising  pub- 
lishers of  the  Elizabethan  period  as  they  had  formerly  been  to 

"  Cf.  Captain  Cox's  Ballads  and  Books  {Lancham's  Letter),  ed.  Furnivall. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         53 

Caxton,  Pynsod,  and  Wynkyn  de  Worde.  During  this  period,  too, 
the  existing  body  of  fiction  of  the  mediaeval  variety  received  impor- 
tant new  additions.  Various  popular  Spanish  and  French  roman- 
ces that  had  not  been  previously  translated  were  turned  into  Eng- 
lish and  reissued  in  successive  impressions.  It  was  at  this  period 
that  the  heroes  of  the  Amadis  cycle  were  first  introduced  to  English 
readers.  Furthermore,  the  knights  of  the  Round  Table  and  other 
well  known  figures  of  mediaeval  legend  were  assigned  new  adven- 
tures, and  original  romances  were  written  in  imitation  of  the  old. 
Some  of  the  more  important  accessions  which  Elizabethan  prose 
fiction  received  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  ways  are  the  following: 

"A  rare  and  straunge  historicall  novel  of  Cleomenes  and  Sopho- 
nisba,  surnamed  Juliet.  Very  pleasant  to  reade.  Imprinted  at 
London  by  Hugh  Jackson,  1577." 

Hazlitt,  Handbook,  p.  457. 

"  r/^e  Knight  of  the  Sun.  The  first  Part  of  the  Mirrour  of  Princely 
Deedes  and  Knighthood.  Wherein  is  shewed  the  Worthinesse  of 
the  Knight  of  the  Sunne  and  his  brother  Rosicleer,  sonnes  to  the 
Emperour  Trebatio,  with  the  strange  love  of  the  beautiful  Prin- 
cesse  Briana,  and  the  valiaunt  actes  of  other  noble  Princes  and 
Knights.  Newly  translated  out  of  the  Spanish  into  our  vulgar 
English  tongue,  by  M(argaret)  T(iler).  Printed  by  Thomas 
East,  1579."  HazHtt,  p.  321. 

^'Gerileon  of  England.  The  gallant,  delectable,  and  pleasaunt 
Hystorie  of  Gerilion  of  England,  containing  the  haughtie  feates  of 
Armes,  and  Knightlie  Prowesse  of  the  same  Gerileon,  with  his 
Loves  and  other  memorable  Adventures.  Composed  in  the  French 
Tongue  by  Steven  de  Maison,  and  Now  newly  translated  into 
Englishe.  Imprinted  by  Myles  Jennynges,  dwelling  in  Paules 
Church-Yarde,  at  the  signe  of  the  Byble.  1583." 

Hazlitt,    p.    47. 

''The  Knight  of  the  Sea.  The  Heroicall  Adventures  of  the  Knight 
of  the  Sea,  comprised  in  the  most  famous  and  renowned  Historie 
of  the  illustrious  and  excellently  accomplished  Prince  Oceander, 
Grandsonne  of  the  mightie  and  magnanimous  Claranax — Emperour 
of  Constantinople,  and  the  Empresse  Basilia,  and  sonne  unto  the 
incomparable  Olbiocles,  Prince  of  Grecia,  by  the  beautious  Prin- 
cesse  Almidiana,  daughter  unto  the  puissant  King  Rubaldo  of 
Hungaria;  wherein  is  described  his  parents'  misfortunes  and  capti- 


54  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

vities,  his  owne  losse,  straunge  preserving,  education  and  fostering 
by  Kanyra,  Queen  of  Carthage,  his  Knighthood,  admirable  ex- 
ploytes,  and  unmatchable  atchievements,  graced  with  most  glo- 
rious conquestes  over  knightes,  gyants,  monsters,  enchauntments, 
realmes  and  dominions:  with  his  fortunate  cominge  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  parents  in  the  greatest  extreamitie  of  their  cap tivitie ; 
his  combating,  affecting  and  pursuites  in  his  love  towardes  the 
rarely  embellished  Princesse  and  lady-knight  Phianora,  daughter 
unto  the  invincible  Argamant,  King  of  England,  by  the  gracious 
Princesse  Clarecinda.     At  London,  for  WiUiam  Leake.    1600." 

Collier,  A  Bibliographical  Account  of  the  Rarest  Books  in  the 
English  Language,  1,  440. 

This  romance  is  of  special  interest  inasmuch  as  it  has  been  held 
by  some  critics  to  be  a  parody  on  heroic  romance  which  anticipates 
Don  Quixote.  Hazlitt  describes  it  as  "A  romance  written  in 
ridicule  of  the  tales  of  knight-errantry"  (Handbook,  p.  321).  The 
absurd  extravagance  of  the  title-page  alone  is  certainly  sufficient 
justification  for  such  an  assumption.  Collier,  however,  regards 
it  as  a  serious  production.  He  says:  ''This  is  one  of  the  few 
romances  of  the  period  when  it  was  published  not  derived  from 
some  foreign  original,  and  it  is  quite  evident  from  perusal  that  it 
is  not  a  translation."  As  to  whether  it  is  a  mock  romance,  he 
says,  "The  point  may  perhaps  be  disputed,  for  although  the  style 
of  the  performance  in  many  places  is  bombastic  and  conceited,  and 
the  incidents  unnatural  and  extravagant,  in  this  respect  it  goes 
but  little  beyond  performances  of  the  same  kind  which  had  been 
translated  from  the  French  by  Anthony  Munday  and  others." 
{Bibliographical   Account,  I,  444.) 

The  Knight  of  the  Sea  bears  evidence  on  every  page  of  its  kin- 
ship in  spirit  and  tone  to  the  romances  of  the  Amadis  cycle,  espe- 
cially those  which  deal  with  the  heroes  of  the  third,  fourth  and  fifth 
generations.  ColUer  is  quite  correct,  therefore,  in  putting  it  in 
the  same  category  with  Munday's  renditions,  through  the  French, 
of  the  Spanish  romances.  The  subject-matter  is  perhaps  sufficiently 
indicated  by  the  title-page  quoted  above;  and  it  is  quite  interest- 
ing to  observe  what  original  effort  could  produce  in  the  way  of 
varied  and  stirring,  even  though  absurd,  adventure  in  the  domain 
of  knight-errantry.  The  underlying  motif  is  the  familiar  one  of 
the  lost  son.     Just  before  the  birth  of  Oceander,  his  mother  is 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         55 

torn  from  her  friends  by  a  giant  and  carried  away  to  sea,  where 
the  hero  is  born.  Hence  his  name,  and  the  de\'ice  of  the  "Nep- 
tunian Kingdome"  that  later  adorned  his  shield.  In  an  effort 
to  save  his  life,  his  mother  entrusts  him  to  a  fisherm.an,  by  whom 
he  is  later  delivered  to  the  Emperor  of  Grecia.  Though  reared  a 
Pagan,  he  is  in  the  end  converted  to  Christianity,  learns  the  facts 
of  his  birth,  and  delivers  his  parents  from  imminent  peril.  Col- 
Her  is  probably  right  in  denying  any  satirical  intent  in  the  romance, 
though  the  high-flown  style  in  which  it  is  written  certainly  lends 
color  to  such  a  view.  The  following  passage  may  serve  as  an  illus- 
tration of  what  Elizabethan  prose  might  become  under  stress. 
Oceander,  meeting  in  combat  the  British  Princess  Phianora,  dis- 
guised as  a  wandering  knight,  has  just  struck  off  her  helmet: — 
"Therewith,  the  buckles  being  broken  have  empoverished  the 
helmet  to  inrich  Oceander's  eye-sight  with  the  aspecting  of  the 
most  beautifull  object  that  ever  dame  Nature  by  her  deified  cunning 
framed.  For  so  soon  as  the  proud  helment  was  distennanted  of 
so  precious  a  head,  such  a  bush  of  goulden  twisted  tressalines 
rained  themselves  into  the  bosome  of  the  Princesse,  as  the  Jove- 
sent  showre  of  Pactolian  gold  into  the  lovely  lap  of  Danae:  which 
being  handsomely  disshevelled  about  her  armed  shoulders,  made 
her  resemble  bright  shining  Cynthia  in  the  gray  clear  Welkin  in 
fashion,  though  farre  exceeding  her  in  favourable  fairnesse:  so  angel- 
hcall  were  the  lookes  of  this  divine  and  more  than  beawtifull  Lady 
Knight,  of  whose  sight,  like  the  sun-gazing  Indian,  Oceander  was 
so  amazed,  as  hke  one  transmuted,  hee  stoode  still  mute  in  a  quan- 
darie,  being  of  a  great  while  not  able  to  recover  his  over-ravished 
senses"  (Chap.  12). 

^'Palladine  of  England.  The  famous,  pleasant  and  variable 
Historic  of  Falladine  of  England.  Discoursing  of  honourable 
Adventures,  of  Knightly  deedes  of  Armes  and  Chivalrie.  Trans- 
lated out  of  the  French  by  A(nthony)  M(unday).  Printed  by 
Edward  Allde  for  John  Perin.  1588." 

Collier,  Bibliographical  Account,  I,  549. 

"Palmerin  d'  Oliva,  the  Mirrour  of  Nobilitie,  turned  into  Eng- 
lish by  A  (nthony)  M(unday),  1588." 

Collier,  Bibliographical  Account,  I,  549. 

^'Palmendas.  The  Honorable,  pleasant,  and  rare  conceited 
Historie  of  Palmendas,  Sonne  to  the  famous  and  fortunate  Prince 


56  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Palmerin  d'  Oliva  Emperour  of  Constantinople,  and  the  Queen  of 
Tharsus.  Translated  by  Anthony  Munday.  Licensed  1589. 
Printed  by  I.  C."  Collier,  Bibliographical  Account,  I,  550. 

''Primaleon  of  Greece.  The  famous  and  renowned  Historie  of 
Primaleon  of  Greece,  sonne  to  the  great  and  mighty  Prince,  Pal- 
merin d'  Oliva.     First  Book.     Printed  for  Cuthbert  Burbie,  1595." 

Hazlitt,   Handbook,   482. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  remark  that  the  heroes  of  the  last 
four  romances  are  descendants  of  Amadis  of  Gaul.  Thomas  Pay- 
nell,  who  was  at  one  time  chaplain  to  Henry  VIII,  had  translated 
the  earlier  books  of  the  cycle  in  1568. 

''The  Nine  Worthies  of  London:  explaining  the  honourable  exer- 
cise of  Armes,  the  Vertues  of  the  Valiant,  and  the  memorable 
attempts  of  magnanimous  Minds.  Pleasant  for  Gentlemen,  not 
unseemly  for  Magistrates,  and  most  profitable  for  Prentices. 
Compiled  by  Richard  Johnson.  Imprinted  at  London  by  Thomas 
Orwin,  1592."  Hazlitt,  Handbook,  302. 

"The  most  famous  History  of  the  Seaven  Champions  of  Chris- 
tendom .  .  .  Compiled  by  diehard  Johnson.  Printed  by  Cuth- 
bert Burbie,  1596." 

"The  Second  Part  of  the  famous  History  of  the  Seven  Cham- 
pions of  Christendom.  1597." 

Collier,  Bibliographical  Account,  1,  411. 

''The  Red  Rose  Knight.  The  Most  Pleasant  History  of  Tom  a 
Lincoln,  that  Renowned  Soldier,  The  Red  Rose  Knight,  who  for  his 
valour  and  Chivalrie  was  sirnamed  The  Boast  of  England.  Show- 
ing his  Honourable  Victories  in  Forraine  Countries,  with  his  strange 
Fortunes  in  the  Fayrie  Land;  and  how  hee  married  the  fayre  Ang- 
litora,  daughter  to  Prester  John,  that  Renowned  Monarke  of  the 
World.  Together  with  the  Lives  and  Deaths  of  his  two  famous 
Sons,  the  Blacke  Knight  and  the  Fayre  Knight,  with  divers  other 
memorable  Accidents,  full  of  delight.  The  Seventh  Impression, 
1635.     By  Richard  Johnson." 

ColHer,  Bibliographical  Account,  I,  305. 

The  three  last  named  romances  represent  the  work  of  a  single 
writer  in  this  recrudescence  of  mediaeval  fiction — Richard  John- 
son, whose  output  is  avowedly  addressed  to  the  bourgeois  London 
public,  that  pubUc  for  which  Heywood's  Four  Prentices  was  written 


THE  EARLY  RO]VL\NTIC  DRAMyV  OF  THE  COURT  5  7 

and  upon  which  the  Henslowe  stage  must  have  depended  for  the 
better  part  of  its  patronage.  These  works  seem  to  have  enjoyed 
an  extraordinary  popularity,  all  having  passed  through  several 
editions  within  a  few  years.  The  most  interesting  of  the  group, 
the  Red  Rose  Knight,  is  usually  described  by  bibliographers 
in  the  seventh  edition,  of  1635;  but  its  existence  as  early 
as  1598  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  Francis  Meres,  in  Pal- 
ladis  Taniia,  includes  it,  along  with  the  Seven  Champions, 
in  the  Hst  of  books  "hurtful  to  youth." ^'^  The  work,  in  fact, 
is  not  wholly  devoid  of  interest  to  modern  readers.  Its  style  is 
tolerable,  and,  in  general  the  type  of  motive  and  incident,  is 
not  an  absolute  surrender  to  barren  sensationalism.  Though 
possessing  the  general  characteristics  of  the  older  members  of  the 
class  to  which  it  belongs,  it  has  certain  traits  that  are  distinc- 
tively Elizabethan.  The  chief  of  these  is  its  tragic  mood.  Unlike 
the  typical  romance  of  Chivalry,  it  fails  to  survive  calamity,  and 
conduct  its  hero  with  head-long  optimism  to  an  ultimate  triumph 
over  all  difificulties.  It  shows,  on  the  other  hand,  unmistakable 
effects  of  the  popular  taste  which  reveled  in  the  tragic  and  bloody 
themes  of  Kyd,  Marlowe,  and  their  less  worthy  imitators,  as  will 
be  evident  from  the  following  brief  summary: — 

Tom-a-Lincoln,  who  later  becomes  the  Red  Rose  Knight,  is 
the  fruit  of  the  illegitimate  love  of  King  Arthur  for  the  fair  Angelica, 
daughter  of  one  of  his  earls.  Brought  up  by  a  poor  shepherd  in 
ignorance  of  his  parentage,  he  becomes  in  youth  a  bold  and  daring 
outlaw,  whose  exploits  reach  the  ears  of  the  King.  Arthur,  on 
learning  his  identity,  gives  him  command  of  an  expedition  against 
the  ELing  of  Portugal,  over  whom  he  wins  a  great  \dctory.  In 
quest  of  adventure,  he  next  proceeds  to  Fairy  Land,  and  is  greatly 
beloved  by  the  queen  of  that  country,  Celia,  who  presents  him 
with  a  son  (the  Fayrie  Knight  of  the  later  story).  Accompanied  by 
Sir  Lancelot,  he  next  visits  the  court  of  Prester  John,  and,  after 
winning  the  love  of  AngHtora,  daughter  of  that  monarch,  persuades 
her  to  elope  with  him  to  England.  On  the  return  journey  they  are 
seen  by  Celia,  Queen  of  Fairyland,  who,  in  despair  at  his  faith- 
lessness, like  Dido  takes  her  own  life.  On  arriving  in  England, 
Tom  and  his  wife  are  given  a  hearty  welcome  by  his  royal  father. 

At  this  point  begins  part  two  of  the  story.  A  son  (The  Black 
Knight)  is  born  to  Tom  and  AngUtora,  but  their  domestic  happi- 

"  Cf.   Smith,  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  II,  308. 


58  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

ness  is  short-lived;  for  King  Arthur,  dying,  reveals  the  secret  of 
Tom's  birth,  and  Anghtora,  ashamed  of  his  illegitimacy,  sets 
out  secretly  for  her  father's  court.  Guinevere's  hatred  of  Tom  is 
so  intense  that  she  issues  a  decree  declaring  him  an  outlaw,  and 
forbidding  anyone  to  speak  to  him  upon  pain  of  death.  Tom's 
mother,  AngeHca,  she  condemns  to  speedy  execution.  Amid  all 
this  distress,  the  hero  sets  out  to  recover  his  lost  wife.  He  is 
rewarded  at  last  by  finding  her  living  as  the  mistress  of  a  strange 
knight,  and,  upon  asking  for  lodging  at  their  castle,  he  is  assigned 
to  mean  quarters,  where,  during  the  night,  he  is  murdered  by  his 
former  wife  and  her  paramour,  and  his  body  is  buried  under  a  dung- 
hill. Like  the  ghost  in  Hamlet,  his  spirit  returns  to  inform  his 
son,  the  Black  Knight,  of  the  deed,  whereupon  the  Black  Knight 
avenges  the  death  of  his  father  by  killing  his  mother.  The  two 
sons  of  Tom  now  meet,  and  fortunately  learn  the  truth  of  their 
kinship.  After  many  wanderings  and  many  valorous  deeds,  they 
return  to  England;  and  at  Lincoln,  the  birth-place  of  their  father, 
they  build  a  beautiful  abbey,  where,  after  a  serene  and  pious  old 
age,  they  at  last  find  a  resting  place  within  its  quiet  walls. 

"The  famous  History  of  Pheander  the  Maiden  Knight,  how  dis- 
quised  under  the  habite  and  name  of  Armatius,  a  Marchant,  he 
forsooke  his  kingdome  of  Carmonia  for  the  Love  of  Amoretta,  the 
most  incomparable  Princesse  of  Trebisond.  Together  with  a 
true  Narrative  of  the  rare  fidehty  of  his  Tutor  Machaon." 

Collier,    II,    154—5. 

This  romance  was  licensed  in  1595,  though  no  edition  of  so 
early  a  date  is  extant.  There  is  no;doubt  of  its  existence  during 
this  period,  however,  as  it  is  included  in  the  proscriptions  of  Meres 
in  Palladis  Taenia  (1598).^^  It  is  mentioned  also  by  Taylor,  the 
water-poet,  in  the  dedication  of  his  Eight  Wonder  of  the  World 
(1613).     The  earliest  edition  described  by  Hazlitt  is  that  of  1617. i« 

''Celestina.  The  Delightful  Historie  of  Celestina  the  Fayre, 
Daughter  to  the  King  of  Thessahe  .  .  .  done  out  of  French  into 
EngUsh  by  William  Barley.    Printed  at  London  by  A.  I.,  1596." 

Hazhtt,  Handbook,  p.  80. 

Mere's  condemnation  also  includes  a  "history  of  Celestina," 
which  was  doubtless  this  romance,  rather  than  a  prose  rendering  of 
Calisto  and  Melibea. 

»5  Cf.  above,  p.  57. 
"  Handbook,  p.  511. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         59 

''Parsimiis,  The  Renowned  Prince  of  Bohemia.  His  most 
famous,  delectable,  and  pleasant  Historic.  Containing  his  noble 
Battailes  fought  against  the  Persians.  His  Love  to  Laurana,  the 
King's  daughter  of  Thessaly.  And  his  strange  Adventures  in  the 
Desolate  Island.  With  the  miseries  and  miserable  imprison- 
ments Laurana  endured  in  the  Island  of  Rockes,  and  a  Descrip- 
tion of  the  Chivalrie  of  the  Phrygian  Knight,  Polippus,  and  his 
constant  love  to  Violetos.  Imprinted  at  London  by  T.  Crude  for 
Richard  Olive,  1598."  Hazlitt,  Handbook,  p.  206. 

"Bellianis.  The  Honour  of  Chivalrie,  set  downe  in  the  most 
famous  Historic  of  the  IMagnanimous  and  Heroicke  Prince  Don 
Beleanis:  Sonne  unto  the  Emperor  Bellaneo  of  Greece.  T.  Creede, 
1598."  Hazlitt,    p.  35. 

"The  Adventures  of  Brusanus,  Prince  of  Hungarie.  Pleasant  for 
all  to  read,  and  Profitable  for  some  to  follow.  Written  by  Bar- 
nabe  Rich  seaven  or  eight  years  si  thence,  and  now  published  by  the 
great  intreaty  of  divers  of  his  friends.  London,  for  Thomas 
Adams,  1592." 

"The  Famous  Historic  of  Chinon  of  England,  with  his  straunge 
Adventures  for  the  love  of  Celestina,  daughter  to  Lewis,  King 
of  France.  With  the  worthy  atchievement  of  Sir  Lancelot  du 
Lake  and  Sir  Tristram  du  Lyons,  for  faire  Laura,  daughter  to 
Cador,  Earl  of  Cornwall,  being  all  Knights  of  King  Arthur's 
Round  Table." 

This  romance  was  the  work  of  Christopher  Middleton,  and  was 
entered  on  the  Stationers'  Register,  January,  20,  1596.  On  January 
3,  of  the  same  year  Henslowe  records  that  the  Admiral's  company 
presented  "chinane  of  Ingland"  as  a  new  play.  We  are  not  to 
suppose,  however,  that  the  romance  was  made  from  the  play, 
but  rather  that  the  play  was  based  upon  the  romance  while  the 
latter  was  still  in  manuscript. ^^ 

The  above  list  makes  no  pretension  to  being  complete  for 
all  late  sixteenth  century  romances  of  chivalry,  but  it  is  sufiEicient 
to  show  that,  for  a  considerable  section  of  the  Elizabethan  public, 
at  least,  interest  in  the  type  was  far  from  extinct.  The  picturesque 
life  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  still  clearly  discernible  in  many  of  the 
customs  and  traditions  of  Elizabethan  England,  while  its  common- 

"  Cf.  Henslowe's  Diary,  ed.  by  Greg,  I,  179. 


60  ROMANTIC  DR.\MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

places  and  ugly  realism  had  been  so  softened  by  time  as  to  make  its 
romantic  glamour  all  the  more  appealing.  The  social  and  intel- 
lectual changes  had  not  hern  so  great  that  the  past  might  not  be 
easily  and  ideally  reconstructed  out  of  the  stock  of  surviving  tra- 
dition. It  was  for  the  m.assess  that  mythical  era,  "the  good  old 
days,"  before  the  spirit  of  the  times  became  sordid  and  m.ean;  the 
age  when  \drtue  and  valor  proceeded  triumphant  over  all  diffi- 
culties. For  like  reason,  the  past,  softened  and  idealized  through 
force  of  imagination,  has  always  been  a  never-failing  source  of 
romantic  inspiration. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  men  should  still  continue 
to  find  pleasure  in  these  legends  of  heroic  achievement.  They  were 
extravagant  and  improbable,  but  they  were  full  of  stirring  action. 
They  celebrated  accompHshment,  the  dominating  personaHty 
triumphing  over  the  forces  that  hemmed  him  in.  Such  matters 
awoke  a  ready  response  among  the  Elizabethans.  Nor  did  readers 
of  that  age  trouble  themselves  greatly  about  questions  of  veri- 
similitude. They  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  romantic  exhilaration, 
in  which  the  stubborn  facts  of  life  were  readily  forgotten.  They 
could  afford  to  allow  wide  limits  to  the  probabiUties  of  fiction  so 
long  as  the  actual  experiences  of  their  contemporaries  in  the  domain 
of  travel,  adventure,  war,  and  conquest  challenged  the  license  of 
romance. 

With  these  facts  in  mind  it  is  even  more  easy  to  understand  that 
the  romances  of  adventure  should  have  been  drawn  upon  freely 
to  satisfy  the  great  demand  for  material  for  dramatic  representa- 
tion which  came  with  the  rapid  development  of  the  romantic  dra- 
ma during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  Such  rambling,  episodic  narra- 
tives were  little  suited  to  the  stage,  to  be  sure,  but  the  series  of 
extravagant  adventures  through  which  their  heroes  passed  were 
sensational  and  thrilhng  enough  to  gratify  the  tastes  of  the  early 
Elizabethans  in  their  craving  for  romantic  excitement  and  stimu- 
lation. From  our  point  of  view,  however,  it  seems  incredible 
that  such  forms  of  romantic  appeal  should  have  been  chosen  appar- 
ently in  preference  to  what  to  the  modern  mind  is  far  more  effec- 
tive. For  certainly  the  choice  of  these  heroic  themes  was  not  due 
solely  to  a  paucity  of  material;  and  no  fact  of  literary  history  is 
more  obvious  than  that  of  their  continued  hold  upon  favor  long 
after  the  way  had  been  found  to  something  better.  Acquaintance 
with  the  romantic  literature  of  the  south  had  begun  before  the 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRv\MA  OF  THE  COURT  61 

close  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  The  Italian  novella,  translated 
first  as  the  single  verse  tale  and  later  in  prose  collections,  began  to 
be  current  not  long  after  1560.  Yet  it  was  not  until  the  late 
eighties  and  nineties  that  they  came  to  be  freely  utilized  by  the 
English  romantic  dramatists.  In  the  intervening  period  a  vigo- 
rous romantic  drama  had  grown  up,  based  almost  entirely  upon 
the  older  conventional  material.  The  dramatic  staple  was  the 
heroic  romance  of  the  mediaeval  pattern,  and  its  selection  seems 
to  have  been  the  result  of  no  constraint,  but  of  free  choice.  Such 
a  predilection  has  perhaps  already  been  sufficiently  accounted 
for.  The  intrigue  type  of  plot — the  standard  of  the  novelle — was 
less  attractive  to  the  early  Elizabethan  than  the  plot  of  adventure. 
The  former  had  long  been  famiUar  to  him  through  popular  farce; 
the  latter,  while  it  possessed  httle  of  the  interest  of  novelty,  pro- 
vided the  stirring  action  in  which  his  soul  delighted,  and  threw 
emphasis  upon  the  heroic  and  masterful  personaHty.  But  what- 
ever the  explanation  may  be,  the  fact  remains  that  mid-sixteenth 
century  romanticism  in  England,  as  purveyed  by  the  drama  at 
least,  was  of  that  mediaeval  kind  which  is  addressed  to  the  sense 
of  wonder  and  awe,  rather  than  the  modern  species  which  appeals 
to  the  sense  that  deHghts  in  contemplating  whatever  is  remote 
from  every  day  life,  but  still  within  the  range  of  actual  human  expe- 
rience. 

Very  little  of  this  early  romantic  drama  has  been  preserved  for 
us,  and  our  materials  for  judging  it  are  meager  indeed.  Bare  re- 
cords of  performances,  which  convey  little  information  beyond 
mere  titles,  are  practically  all  that  we  have,  and  quite  possibly 
we  know  only  a  small  part  of  these.  Custom  and  tradition,  how- 
ever, had  made  the  Tudor  court  a  center  of  dramatic  activity.  To 
the  masks  and  other  forms  of  revelry  with  which  it  had  long  been 
the  custom  to  celebrate  the  holiday  seasons,  was  added  in  time  the 
regular  drama,  and  the  providing  of  suitable  plays  and  masks  for 
royal  entertainment  was  an  official  function  which  received  more 
and  more  attention  with  the  passing  of  time.  The  development  of 
the  tastes  and  interests  which  made  the  atmosphere  of  the  court 
extremely  favorable  to  the  young  romantic  drama  has  already  been 
considered;  and  while  it  is  doubtless  true  that  the  popular  stage 
was  a  most  potent  agency  in  providing  material  for  these  court 
performances,  a  royal  predilection  for  plays  of  the  romantic  spe- 
cies is,  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  at  least,  indisputable. 


62  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

It  is  upon  the  records  kept  by  the  Office  of  the  Revels,  moreover, 
that  we  must  depend  mainly  for  our  knowledge  of  the  English 
romantic  drama  during  the  period  of  its  incubation.  From  this 
source  we  learn  the  names  of  fifty-two  of  a  considerably  larger 
number  of  plays  which  were  presented  before  Queen  Elizabeth  in 
the  period  between  1570  and  1585.  Of  these,  eighteen,  judging 
from  their  titles,  were  based  upon  themes  drawn  from  classical 
history  and  mythology;  ten  must  have  been  surviving  moral 
plays  or  domestic  comedies;  while  the  remainder,  twenty-four  in 
number,  seem  almost  certainly  from  their  titles  to  have  been  roman- 
tic. These  include  themes  drawn  apparently  from  practically 
all  the  conventional  romantic  sources, — decadent  Greek  novel, 
Italian  comedy  and  novella,  Spanish  pastoral,  secularized  saints' 
legend,  and — most  numerous  of  all— mediaeval  romances  of  chivalry. 
In  most  cases,  the  identification  of  a  recorded  play  with  a  parti- 
cular romance  involves  a  large  element  of  conjecture.  We  cannot, 
of  course,  be  absolutely  certain  that  a  correspondence  in  title  or  in 
the  names  of  leading  characters  means  identity  in  theme  or  sub- 
ject matter,  though  the  assumption  that  it  does  is  usually  a  fairly 
safe  one.  In  a  few  instances,  though  unfortunately  in  only  a  few, 
the  assumption  is  strengthened  by  entries  of  appropriate  stage  pro- 
perties and  other  dramatic  paraphernalia  in  the  account  rolls  of 
the  Revels  office.  At  any  rate,  we  can  only  conjecture  as  to  the 
character  of  this  large  body  of  lost  drama;  and  rational  conjecture 
is  both  helpful  and  interesting,  as  indicating  not  only  the  source, 
but  incidentally  the  type  also,  of  the  romantic  drama  during  the 
period  of  its  infancy. 

Beginning  with  the  decade  1570-1580,  when  the  mediaeval 
romance  of  chivalry  appears  to  have  been  the  favorite  drama- 
tic staple,  we  find  in  the  Revels  accounts  covering  the  period  between 
December  1,  1571,  and  Shrove  Tuesday,  1571-2,  the  following  entry: 
''Paris  and  Vienna  showen  on  Shrovetuesdaie  at  Nighte  by  the 
Children  of  Westminster,  "i**  The  entries  relating  to  the  proper- 
ties employed  in  the  presentation  of  this  play  are  as  follows: 

"To  furryer — Sachary  Benett  for  X  dosen  of  Kyddes  skynnes 
together  with  the  workmanship  by  him  and  his  servauntes  doone 
upon  the  Hobby  horses  that  served  the  children  of  Westminster 

"  Feuillerat,  Documents  relating  to  the  Office  of  the  Revels  during  the  Reign  of  Eliza- 
beth, Louvain,  1908,  p.  145. 


\/ 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DR.\MA  OF  THE  COURT  63 

in  the  triumphe  (where  parris  wan  the  Christall  sheelde  for  Vienna, 
at  the  Turneye  and  Barryers)— in  all  .   .   .  xlif    vf.''^^ 

"Morris  Pickering  and  William  Jening  for  mony  by  them  dis- 
bursed for  the  hier  of  certeine  Armour  for  the  playe  of  parris  and 
Vienna  to  furnish  the  triumphe  therein  and  for  Rewardes  by  them 
geven  to  the  armorers  that  attended  by  thappoyntment  of  the 
seide  Master  .   .   .  li'vf.''^" 

"Caparisons  and  furniture  for  the  challengers  and  defenders 
with  their  horses,  etc.,  and  upon  the  targetts,  weapons,  garlandes, 
cronettes,  and  sondry  other  thinges.''^^ 

Without  the  mention  of  the  properties  employed,  we  should 
be  strongly  incHned  to  associate  this  play  with  the  "History  of 
the  noble  and  ryght  valyant  and  worthy  Knyght  Parys  and  the  f ayr 
Vyene  the  daulphyns  doughter  of  Vynnois,"  translated  from  the 
French  and  pubhshed  by  Caxton  in  1485;  and  the  uncommonly 
explicit  record  of  the  stage  accessories  employed  leaves  no  doubt 
in  the  matter.  The  choice  of  this  particular  theme  for  dramatic 
presentation  is  a  conspicuous  example  of  good  judgment  at  a 
time  when  current  fashions  must  have  inclined  to  bombastic  melo- 
drama. Paris  and  Vienna  has  been  called  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  the  romances  of  chivalry.  HazHtt,  in  the  introduction  to  his 
reprint  of  the  Caxton  edition,  in  the  Roxburghe  Library  (1868), 
says:  "In  the  whole  compass  of  early  romantic  fiction  of  a  chival- 
ric  character,  I  do  not  remember  at  any  time  to  have  met  with  a 
book  so  pecuHarly  simple  and  unaffected  in  its  structure  and  style 
as  this.  I  will  scarcely  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  probabihty  is  never 
violated,  .  .  .  but  assuredly  there  is  freedom,  with  much  charm, 
from  many  of  the  vices  which  beset  such  productions,  extravagance 
of  conceit,  tediousness  of  digression,  farfetched  incidents,  and  tur- 
gid phraseology.""  The  romance  is  of  Catalonian  origin,  having 
been  translated  into  Provencal  about  1430,  and  into  French,  by 
Pierre  de  la  Sippade,  in  1459.^^  Its  early  popularity  is  attested 
by   the  fact  that  by  1525  it  had  been  translated  into  eight  lan- 

''  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  141. 

=»  Ihid.  142. 

2'  Ibid.  135. 

^  Loc.  cit,  p.  V. 

^  The  Old  French  version,  with  specimens  of  the  Catalonian,  Spanish,  and  Italian 
texts,  has  been  recently  (1902)  edited,  with  a  scholarly  introduction  and  notes,  by 
Robert   Kaltenbacher,   and   published   in   Romaniscbc   Forsdmngen,   XV,   321-688a. 


64  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

guages;  and  it  is  extant  in  no  less  than  twelve  manuscripts  and 
sixty-one  distinct  editions.  Its  bibliographical  history  is  espe- 
cially brilliant.  "Parmi  les  romans  de  chevalerie  que  recher- 
chent  aujourd'hui  les  amateurs,"  says  a  modern  editor,  "il  en 
est  peu  d'aussi  rares  que  1'  Histoire  du  chevalier  Paris  et  de  la 
belle  Vienne,  et  cependant  il  n'en  est  point  qui  ait  ete  plus  souvent 
imprime.  Nous  ajouterons  qu'il  n'en  est  aucun  qui  puisse  se 
prevaloir  d'une  genealogie  letteraire  aussi  complete.  Les  Per- 
ceval, les  Tristan,  les  Lancelot  meme  ne  souraient  inscrire  sur 
leur  pennon  bibliographique  autant  d'  editions  ou  de  traductions 
que  le  chevalier  Paris."-'* 

Paris-und  yjenna  is  a  simple  and  affecting  story  of  faithful- 
/ness  in  love  between  a  brave  and  modest  young  knight  and  a  high- 
born lady,  without  any  of  the  clap-trap  of  giants  and  magicians 
which  too  often  robs  the  romances  of  chivalry  of  their  interest 
for  modern  readers.  Its  adaptability  to  dramatic  representation 
may  be  judged  b}^  the  following  summary  of  its  leading  incidents: 

During  the  time  of  King  Charles  of  France  there  was  in  "Vyen- 
nois"  a  rich  baron  and  lord  of  the  land  named  Godefroy  d'Alen- 
fon.  He  had  an  only  daughter  Vienna,  named  in  honor 
of  the  country  wherein  she  was  born.  At  the  same  time 
there  lived  in  Vienne  a  rich  vassal  of  the  Dauphin  whose  only 
son,  Paris,  was  the  flower  of  knighthood.  The  young  knight  soon 
came  greatly  to  love  the  daughter  of  his  lord,  but  out  of  considera- 
tion for  the  difference  in  their  station,  he  cherished  his  passion  in 
silence,  only  allowing  himself  the  pleasure  of  singing  beneath  her 
window  at  night.  The  Dauphin,  anxious  to  learn  who  these  mys- 
terious minstrels  were,  stationed  ten  armed  men  in  his  garden  to 
apprehend  them,  but  Paris  and  his  friend  Edward  used  their 
swords  so  bravely  that  they  escaped  unknown.  Vienna  thought 
much  upon  the  matter,  but  the  mystery  remained  as  deep  as  ever. 

The  Dauphin  proclaimed  a  tournament  in  honor  of  his  daughter, 
and  as  the  fame  of  her  beauty  was  known  in  many  lands,  num- 
erous great  noblemen  and  illustrious  knights  assembled  to  take 
part  in  the  contest.  When  the  jousts  were  about  to  begin,  two 
strange  knights,  clothed  in  white  armour,  and  without  arms  or 
other  insignia  upon  their  shields,  rode  into  the  lists,  and,  after 
hours  of  terrific  combat,   emerged   completely  victorious.     With 

'*  Terrebasse,  in  the  introduction  to  his  edition  of  the  romance  (1835).  Cf.  Ronian- 
ische  Forschungen,  XV,  321. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DR.\MA  OF  THE  COURT  65 

much  courtly  ceremony,  Paris  received  the  prize  of  the  tourna- 
ment— a  crystal  shield  and  a  garland  of  roses—from  the  fair  hands 
of  Vienna  herself,  and  the  two  friends  departed  as  mysteriously 
as  they  had  come. 

The  guests  dispersed,  and  on  their  way  homeward,  they  raised 
a  heated  discussion  as  to  whether  any  lady  in  the  world  was  more 
beautiful  than  Vienna,  the  dispute  waxing  hot  between  the  par- 
tisans of  Vienna,  those  of  Constance,  sister  to  the  King  of  England, 
and  those  of  Florienne,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Normandie.  At 
the  invitation  of  the  King  of  France,  it  was  determined  that  all 
should  meet  at  a  certain  time  in  the  city  ot  Paris  to  decide  the 
question  by  force  of  arms.  Here  again  Paris,  still  in  disguise,  and 
accompanied  by  his  faithful  friend  Edward,  won  the  decision  for 
his  lady  Vienna. 

The  burden  of  fruitless  love  has  by  this  time  worked  a  great 
change  in  this  energetic  young  knight,  and  much  to  the  chagrin  of 
his  father,  who,  like  everybody  else,  is  in  ignorance  of  his  recent 
splendid  performances,  he  seems  to  languish  and  lose  interest  in 
knightly  deeds  of  arms.  Vienna  fortunately  learns  the  identity  of 
the  mysterious  knight  who  has  given  such  magnificent  proof  of 
his  devotion,  by  hnding  in  the  private  chapel  of  Paris,  the  white 
armour,  the  crystal  shield  and  the  garland  which  he  has  won  for 
her,  and  she  readily  transfers  to  him  all  the  love  that  has  been  grow- 
ing in  her  heart  for  the  heroic  but  mysterious  champion.  En- 
couraged by  this,  Paris  prevails  upon  his  father  to  intercede 
with  the  Dauphin  for  permission  to  wed  her,  but  that  royal  gentle- 
man is  thrown  into  transports  of  rage  at  the  proposal  that  his  only 
daughter  and  successor  should  marry  the  son  of  his  vassal. 

The  unhappy  lovers  determine  to  elope,  but,  halted  by  swollen 
streams,  they  are  overtaken.  Paris  escapes,  but  Vienna  is  brought 
back  and  placed  in  a  dark  and  gloomy  prison  by  her  irate  father, 
who  informs  her  that  she  will  regain  her  liberty  only  by  marrying 
according  to  his  wishes.  He  urges  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  as  a 
suitable  husband,  and  even  goes  so  far  as  to  bring  him  to  the  court 
for  the  wedding  ceremonies;  "but  it  availed  hym  nothing  all  that 
he  dyd,  for  the  wylle  of  her  was  more  in  Parys  than  in  any  other 
man  of  the  world." 

Paris,  in  the  meantime,  had  sought  to  forget  his  woes  in  a 
journey  to  the  Holy  Sephulcre  at  Jerusalem,  where  "he  sette  all 
his  courage  in  devocyon,  and  bycam  so  devoute  that  it  was  mar- 


66  ROMANTIC  DRAiLV  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

vaylle."  From  thence  he  passed  "to  the  lands  of  prester  John, 
where  he  dwelled  a  longe  tyme."  Learning  the  language  of  the 
Moors,  he  went  into  Egypt  and  came  to  the  court  of  the  Sultan, 
whose  friendship  and  confidence  he  gained  by  restoring  to  health 
that  monarch's  favorite  falcon,  which  had  fallen  sick.  So,  adop- 
ting the  language,  dress,  and  habits  of  the  Moors,  Paris  decided 
to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  that  country. 

The  King  of  France,  having  secured  the  consent  of  the  pope 
to  conduct  a  Crusade  against  the  Saracens,  sent  the  Dauphin  in 
advance  to  reconnoitre.  The  Dauphin  and  his  party  were  be- 
traved  by  certain  of  their  Christian  enemies,  however,  and  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Sultan,  who  imprisoned  them  at  Alexandria. 
Paris,  on  hearing  the  news,  at  once  saw  his  opportunity.  Through 
his  friendship  with  the  Sultan  he  secured  access  to  the  prisoners; 
and  after  gaining  from  the  Dauphin,  who  believed  him  to  be  a 
native  Saracen,  the  promise  of  granting  any  request  he  might 
make  in  exchange  for  liberty,  he  aided  him  to  escape,  and  together 
they  set  out  for  France.  There  they  found  Vienna  still  languish- 
ing in  prison,  but  the  time  of  deliverance  was  at  hand.  The  aston- 
ished Dauphin  was  chagrined  to  learn  that  he  owed  his  Hberty 
to  his  hated  vassal;  but  his  word  had  been  given.  The  long  deferred 
marriage  took  place  at  once;  and  after  the  death  of  the  Dauphin, 
Paris  ruled  in  his  stead. 

Such  is  the  substance  out  of  which  was  constructed  probably 
the  first  purely  romantic  play  ever  presented  at  the  Enghsh  court. 
Richard  Edward's  Damon  and  Pythias,  which  was  performed  be- 
fore the  Queen  by  the  children  of  the  Chapel  during  Christmas, 
1564-5,  though  it  treats  the  romantic  theme  of  ideal  friendship 
between  men,  with  its  devotion  and  self-sacrifice,  and  is  completely 
free  from  didactic  intent,  is  nevertheless  a  pseudo-classical  tragi- 
comedy with  heavy  importations  from  vernacular  farce.  It  has 
been  conjectured  that  the  "Tragedy  of  the  King  of  Scottes," 
performed  at  court  sometime  between  July  14,  1567  and  March 
3,  1567-8,  may  have  been  based  upon  a  romantic  story  "such  as 
that  of  Juan  de  Flores's  History  of  Aurelio  and  Isabel,  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Scots,  "'^      but  even  if  the  conjecture  be  credited, 

^  Cf.  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  119  and  note.  There  is  also  a  possibility  that 
it  was  based  upon  older  romantic  material,  such  as  the  ston,-  of  the  intrigue  between 
Meliadus  and  the  Queen  of  Scots,  told  in  chaps.  65-105  of  the  romance  of  Meliadus  of 
Lennoy. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         67 

the  appearance  among  the  properties  of  a  "Castell  of  Prosperitie" 
would  indicate  a  morality  element.  So  far  as  we  are  able  to  judge, 
however,  there  was  in  the  play  of  Paris  and  Vienna  nothing  which 
was  inharmonious  with  a  serious  and  dignified  treatment  of  the 
theme  of  romantic  love.  It  is  interesting  to  observe,  too,  what 
features  were  given  emphasis  by  means  of  properties  and  stage- 
setting.  There  was  evidently  an  attempt  at  verisimilitude  in 
the  spectacular  tournament  scene  "where  Paris  won  the  crystal 
shield  for  Vienna,"  as  is  proved  by  the  expense  incurred  in  pro- 
viding hobby-horses,  armour,  "targetts,  weapons,  garlands,  cro- 
netts,  and  all  the  furniture  for  the  challengers  and  defenders.  "^'^ 

Sometime  during  the  Christmas  season  of  1572-3  there  was 
performed  at  court  by  an  unknown  company  a  play  drawn  from 
HeHodorus's  Greek  romance  of  Theagenes  and  Chariclea.  The 
actual  performance  is  not  recorded  in  tKe  accounts  of  the  Office  of 
the  Revels,  but  under  the  head  of  "  Propertymaker  and  parcells" 
there  are  entries  for, 

"An  awl  tier  for  theagines  .  .  .  iij  ^  iij  '^ 
ij  spears  for  the  play  of  Cariclea  .  .  .  xvi''."" 
The  date  at  which  Heliodorus  was  first  translated  into  English 
is  in  doubt.  It  appears  that  Underdowne's  translation  was  first 
printed  in  1577,  several  years  after  the  performance  of  the  play; 
and  in  the  edition  of  1587  Underdowne  speaks  in  the  preface  of 
having  undertaken  the  translation  "not  long  ago."  But  the 
Stationers'  Register  shows  an  entry  in  1569  ficensing  Francis  Col- 
docke  to  print  "the  ende  of  the  X*^^  boke  of  Heliodorus  Ethiopean 
historye."'*  So  there  seems,  after  all,  to  have  been  an  Enghsh 
edition  early  enough  for  the  use  of  the  dramatist.  The  romance  was 
well  known  in  Europe,  however,  having  been  first  published  in 
Latin  at  Basel,  in  1534,  and  translated  into  French  by  Amyot,  in 
1547.29 

=«  Cf.  Above,  pp.  62-3. 

''  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  175. 

'» S.  R.  ed.  Arber,  I,  388. 

°'  Cf.  S.  L.  Wolff,  The  Greek  Romances  in  Elizabethan  Fiction,  p.  237.  The  subject 
of  Theagenes  and  Chariclea  was  probably  the  foundation  for  the  play  called  The  Queen 
of  Ethiopia,  which  Northbrooke  {Treatise,  p.  viii)  mentions  as  having  been  acted  at 
Bristol  in  1578,  and  it  is  certainly  the  theme  of  the  e.xtant  play  by  John  Gough  entitled 
A  Strange  Discovery,  printeld  1640. 


68  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  the  long-winded  narratives  of 
Greek  romance,  with  their  burden  of  episode,  digression,  and 
irrelevancy,  could  have  been  successfully  adopted  to  dramatic 
presentation.  It  would  seem  that  the  wildest  of  the  romances  of 
chivalry  would  be  preferable  in  comparison.  The  flight  of  a  pair 
of  lovers  and  the  changes  of  fortune  that  befall  them — shipwreck, 
adventures  with  pirates  and  robbers,  separation,  and  final  reunion — 
all  this  produces  a  profusion  of  monotonously  similar  incident 
through  which  it  would  seem  impossible  that  a  dramatist  could 
find  his  way  without  being  submerged.  The  avoidance  of  epi- 
sode and  concentration  upon  the  narrative  "high  lights"  would  of 
course  be  the  only  method  possible,  and  even  then  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  the  extended  narrative  sequence  could  be  manipu- 
lated so  as  to  conform  to  the  demands  of  dramatic  structure  and 
still   remain  intelligible   to   an   audience. 

It  is  probable  that  in  the  court  play  of  1572  dramatic  emphasis 
was  centered  upon  the  great  ensemble  scene  in  the  tenth  book  of 
Heliodorus,  where  the  lovers,  after  their  flight  from  Delphi  and 
the  wearsiome  chain  of  adventures  that  befell  them  on  their  tra- 
vels, have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Hydaspes,  father  of  Chariclea, 
through  his  victory  over  Oroondates  at  Syene.  The  "awltier" 
mentioned  in  the  account  rolls  is  probably  the  sacrificial  altar 
upon  whose  heated  golden  bars  the  victims,  Theagenes  and  Chari- 
clea, are  placed  without  any  mark  of  injury,  since  in  all  their  wan- 
derings and  in  spite  of  many  temptations,  they  have  remained 
chaste  and  free  from  carnal  stain.  The  "two  spears  for  the  play 
of  Cariclea,"  mentioned  in  the  accounts,  were  probably  intended 
to  represent  arms  in  the  hands  of  Hydaspes's  exultant  soldiers, 
who  after  the  battle  pressed  about  the  captives  and  clamored  for 
their  immolation.^''  The  scene  had  all  the  elements  of  sensation- 
alism necessary  to  recommend  it  to  dramatists  of  this  period; — 
the  daughter  exposed  in  infancy  and  believed  to  be  long  dead, 
P  falling  at  last,  along  with  her  lover,  into  the  hands  of  her  parents, 
who  unknowingly  are  about  to  consign  both  of  them  to  death,  the 
'.  thrilling  test  of  chastity  to  which  they  are  subjected  as  a  pre- 
\  liminary  to  their  sacrifice,  the  escape  of  the  sacrificial  bull  and  its 
\  spectacular  capture  by  Theagenes,  the  wrestling  match  wherein 
he  further  endears  himself  to  the  populace,  and  finally,  in  the  nick 

^°  It  is  at  such  puny  efforts  at  realism  that  Ben  Jonson  sneers,  in  the  Prologue  to 
Every  Man  in  his  Humour. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         69 

of  time,  the  arrival  of  Charicles,  the  recognition  of  Chariclea,  and 
the  rapid  solution  of  all  difficulties.  With  the  nine  books  of  ante- 
cedent action  satisfactorily  disposed  of,  the  tenth  book  of  Heliodo- 
rus  is  capable  of  being  served  up  as  tolerable  melodrama. 

The  records  of  the  Revels  office  for  the  period  between  Feb- 
ruary 12  and  February  21,  1576-7  contain  an  entry  for  a  play  called 
"The  Irisshe  Knyght  showen  at  Whitehall  on  Shrovemundaie 
at  night  enacted  by  the  Earle  of  Warwicke  his  servauntes.  "^^ 
Professor  Feuillerat  suggests^^  that  the  subject  of  this  play  may 
have  been  drawn  from  a  Spanish  romance  entitled  "Historia  del 
Nobile  and  Valoroso  Cavaliero  Felice  Magno,"  in  which  a  char- 
acter called  Mariano  d' Irland a  figures  (chaps.  48-52).  In  view 
of  the  fact,  however,  that  this  romance  had  apparently  never 
been  translated  into  English  at  this  time,  a  safer  conjecture  s^ms 
to  be  that  the  play  had  to  do  with  some  of  the  numerous  heroic 
exploits  of  Morhoult  of  Ireland,  a  famous  character  of  the  Round 
Table.  He  plays  an  important  part  in  the  romance  of  Tristram, 
but  figures  most  prominently  in  the  romance  of  Meliadus,  where 
his  name  appears  in  the  title:  "Les  nobles  faicts  d'armes  du  vail- 
lant  Roy  Meliadus  de  Lennoys.  Ensemble  pleusieurs  autres  nobles 
proesses  de  chevalerie  faictes  par  .  .  .  le  Morhoult  d'  Irlande,  le 
beau  ChevaHer  sus  paour,  Galehoult  le  Brun,  Segurades,  Galaad, 
que  autres  bons  chevaliers  estans  au  temps  du  dit  roy  Meliadus.  "^^ 
He  is  commonly  called  Morhoult  of  Ireland  throughout  the  romance. 
That  part  of  his  career  which  would  perhaps  offer  most  opportu- 
nities to  a  dramatist  is  his  treacherous  imprisonment  by  Trarsin, 
on  the  grounds  of  an  alleged  love  intrigue  between  Morhoult  and 
the  wife  of  that  knight,  which  came  about  in  this  way:  Pharamond, 
King  of  the  Franks,  after  an  incognito  visit  to  the  court  of  Arthur, 
where  he  is  wounded  in  a  tournament,  is  returning  to  his  native 
land.  After  sailing  for  some  time  down  a  pleasant  stream  with 
beautiful  scenery  Uning  its  banks,  he  stops  at  last  for  rest  and 
refreshment  beside  a  sparkling  fountain  situated  in  a  grove  of  lofty 
pines.     Having  recuperated,  he  sends  to  Trarsin,  lord  of  the  coun- 

"  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  270. 

^Ubid.  p.  461. 

''  Meliadus  forms  part  of  the  Great  Romance  of  Palamedes,  and  was  first  printed 
at  Paris  in  1528  by  GaUiot  du  Pre.  It  was  of  course  well  known  in  England.  Cf.  Ward, 
Catalogue  of  Romances  in  Dept  of  MSS.  Brit.  Mus.  I,  364-69. 


70  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

try,  and  asks  that  he  grant  him  the  courtesy  of  a  trial  at  arms. 
Trarsin  consents,  and  is  overthrown  by  Pharamond.  But  he 
immediately  encounters  Morhoult  of  Ireland  and  is  defeated  by 
him  in  turn.  While  the  two  are  exchanging  knightly  courtesies,  a 
maiden  arrives,  purporting  to  come  from  the  wife  of  Trarsin, 
the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the  Kingdom,  inviting  Morhoult  to 
a  rendevouz.  This  is  really  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  Trarsin,  who 
wishes  to  induce  Morhoult  to  make  improper  advances  to  his  wife, 
that  he  may  have  an  excuse  for  punishing  them  both.  The  treach- 
ery is  effective,  and  Morhoult  is  imprisoned  along  with  the  lady 
of  Trarsin,  who  prepares  dire  punishment  for  them.  Brehus 
sa7ts  pitie  attempts  their  rescue,  but  fails;  and  conceiving  a  violent 
hatred  for  all  women  because  of  the  injury  done  Morhoult  by  the 
perfideous  damsel,  he  strikes  dead  a  lady  whom  he  meets  travelHng 
with  Yvain.  Another  effort  on  the  part  of  Brehus  results  in  the 
liberation  of  Morhoult,  who  in  revenge  upon  Trarsin  carries  the 
lady  oif ,  but  through  the  influence  of  Meliadus  she  is  returned  to 
her  husband. 

The  play  appearing  in  the  records  as  "Herpetulus  the  blew 
Knighte  and  Perobia,  playde  by  my  Lorde  Klintons  servantes  the 
thirde  of  January,  (1573 — 4)  being  the  Sunday  after  the  Newyeares 
daye  there  (at  Whitehall), "^^  was  in  all  probability  a  performance 
of  the  romantic  species,  though  there  is  nothing  upon  which  to 
base  an  assumption  connecting  it  with  any  probable  source  in 
romantic  fiction.  Characters  with  names  corresponding  to  those 
mentioned  in  the  title  are  not  known  in  any  other  connection. 
The  caption,  however,  is  redolent  of  folk  heroics  and  fairy  lore, 
the  dramatization  of  which  George  Peele  is  supposed  to  have 
satirized  in  his  Old  Wives'  Tale.  The  mention  of  the  properties 
employed  throws  some  light  upon  the  probable  character  of  the 
performance  from  a  slightly  different  angle.  We  find  in  the  account 
rolls  entries  reading  as  follows : 

"One  Baskett  with  iiij  Eares  to  hang  Dylligence  in  in  the 
play  of  perobia.  "^^ 

"A  Gebbett  to  hang  up  diligence."^" 

^*  Feuillerat,   Documcnls,  p.    193. 
35  Ibid.  p.  199. 
'« Ibid.  200. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         7 1 

"Paste  and  paper  for  the  dragons  head."" 

The  last  named  item  is  a  further  indication  that  the  play  was 
based  upon  heroic  romance  or  folk  tale,  while  the  the  "basket" 
and  the  "gibbet  to  hang  up  Diligence"  point  strongly  to  the 
presence  among  the  dramatis  personae  of  a  comic  character  belonging 
to  the  family  of  Subtle  Shift,  in  Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes, 
and  Common  Conditions,  in  the  play  which  bears  his  name, — 
double-dealing  villains  with  a  variety  of  aliases,  whose  cleverness 
is  often  barely  sufficient  to  extricate  them  from  predicaments  of 
their  own  contriving. 

The  records  for  the  period  between  February  12  and  February 
21,  1576-7,  contain  the  entry  of  a  play  called  "The  Historie  of  the 
Solitarie  Knight  showen  at  Whitehall  on  Shrovesundaie  at  night 
enacted  by  the  Lord  Howards  servauntes.  "^'^  The  items  refer- 
ring to  properties  employed  are  of  little  value  in  indicating  the 
character  of  the  performance,  though  the  following  may  be  noted  as 
having  some  slight  significance. 

"To  John  Edwyn  for  the  lone  of  certein  Armour  with  a  base 
and  Targettes  which  the  Lorde  Howardes  servantes  used  in  their 
playe  of  the  Solytarie  Knight  .   .   .  vij  ^  "^^ 

"To  John  Drawater  for  money  by  him  disbursed  .  .  for 
two  glasse  Voyalls  for  the  Lorde  Howardes  servantes  on  Shrove- 
sundaie .   .   .  ij  ^."^" 

"For  bread  which  was  used  in  the  playe  of  the  Solytarie  Knyght 

The  assumption  that  the  play  was  based  upon  romantic  ma- 
terial is  perhaps  sufficiently  justified  by  its  title,  though  we  can 
only  speculate  as  to  its  probably  source.  The  romances  of  chiv- 
alry are  filled  with  instances  of  knights  who  for  one  reason  or 
another — most  often  the  unresponsiveness  of  their  mistresses — • 
abandoned  their  martial  exploits  for  a  time  and  adopted  the  life 
of  a  hermit.  It  is  not  improbable,  however,  that  a  recent  trans- 
lation served  as  the  basis  of  the  play.     Dramatists  of  the  period 

"  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  203. 
'« Ibid.  p.  270. 
^Ubid.p.  275. 
"//>/</.  p.  275. 
*'  Ibid.  p.  276. 


72  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

were  not  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  fresh  material,  provided  it 
was  in  harmony  with  current  dramatic  fashions.  A  short  time 
before  the  recorded  performance  there  appeared  TJie  pretie  His- 
tory of  Amah  and  Lucinda,  translated  by  Claudius  Holyband  from 
Marofh's  Italian  version  of  a  pretended  Greek  original.  It  is  in 
reality,  however,  the  invention  of  the  Spaniard  Don  Hernandez 
de  San  Pedro,  and  reached  Alarofii  through  a  French  version 
widely  known  under  the  title  of  "Le  Chevalier  Melancholique.  "*- 
The  tale  proved  to  be  popular  in  England,  and  passed  through  four 
editions  between  1575  and  1608.  In  1639  it  was  turned  into  Eng- 
lish verse  by  Leonard  Lawrence,  and  published  under  the  title  "A 
small  Treatise  betwixt  Arnalte  and  Lucinda,  entitled.  The  evill 
intreated  lover,  or  The  melancholy  Knight  ...  in  English  verse, 
by  L.  L.,  a  well-wisher  to  the  Muses." 

"The  "argument"  of  Holyband's  prose  translation  reads  as 
follows:  "A  noble  Grecian,  who  riding  to  doe  his  businesse,  being 
out  of  his  way,  came  to  a  solitarie  place,  where  a  most  vaUant  knight 
of  Thebes  named  Arnalt,  having  buylded  a  dark  and  sadde  Palace, 
...  as  an  Hermite  did  dwell,  in  continuall  sighs,  lamentations, 
and  mourning.  Of  whom  he  being  courteously  receaved  and 
feasted,  was  fully  informed  of  all  his  wofull  and  pitifull  mishappe; 
and  instantly  prayed,  that  for  the  honour  of  gracious,  mercifull, 
and  honest  women,  and  the  profit  of  unwarie  and  too  bolde  Youth 
he  should  write  it,  and  make  it  come  foorth  into  the  cleare  Hghte 
and  knowledge  of  the  worlde."  The  tale  that  follows  is  in  keep- 
ing with  this  lugubrious  introduction.  It  recites  the  dolorous 
woes  of  a  love  affair  that  had  its  inception  in  a  funeral.  While 
the  burial  rites  are  being  performed  for  an  eminent  citizen  of 
Thebes,  Arnalt  sees,  and  falls  desperately  in  love  with,  his  daughter, 
whose  grief,  to  his  view,  greatly  enhances  her  beauty.  Though  she 
remains  unresponsive  to  his  addresses,  Arnalt  hopes  finally  to  win 
her  favor.  Despair  overtakes  him,  however,  when  she  bestows  her 
hand  upon  his  own  false  friend  Yerso,  to  whom  he  had  confided 
his  passion.  In  the  duel  which  follows  Yerso  is  killed;  Lucinda, 
heartbroken,  retires  to  a  convent,  while  Arnalt  seeks  the  seclusion 
of  a  hermit's  cell. 

It  is  perhaps  a  work  of  supererogation  to  offer  an  alternative 
conjecture  as  to  the  subject  of  The  Solitary  Knight,  but  in  \dew  of 

«Cf.   Collier,  Catalogue,  I,  456-7;  Mary  A.  Scott,  Eliz.   Translations  from  the 
Italian,  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Assoc,  1896,  pp.  456-7;  Retrospective  Review,  vol.  IV,  pp.  72-76. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         73 

the  fact  that  the  descendents  of  Amadis  of  Gaul  were  proving 
especially  attractive  to  English  dramatists  of  this  period,— as  will 
appear  by  examples  to  be  noted  later,— it  may  not  be  amiss  to 
call  attention  to  a  hermit  knight  of  Amadis  literature  whose  exploits 
could  have  served  as  the  basis  of  the  Enghsh  court  play.  The  epi- 
sode in  question  is  to  be  found  in  the  twelfth  book  of  the  French 
Amadis,-*^  beginning  with  chapter  84  and  extending  through  chap- 
ter 95.  It  does  not  occur  in  the  Spanish  original,  which  for  the 
French  twelfth  book  is  Part  Two  of  Florisel  de  Niquea,^'^  but  is 
an  independent  insertion  of  the  French  translator,  Aubert  de 
Poitiers. 

The  incidents  of  this  engrafted  narrative  are  in  keeping,  however, 
with  the  absurdity  common  to  all  the  later  books  of  the  Amadis 
cycle,  as  will  be  evident  from  the  following  brief  summary:  The 
Prince  Agesilan  and  his  bride  Diane,  in  company  with  several  other 
princes  and  princesses,  set  sail  from  the  island  of  Guindaye  for 
Constantinople,  where  their  marriage  is  to  be  celebrated.  Before 
reaching  there,  however,  they  encounter  a  fearful  storm.  Believ- 
ing that  the  ship  will  be  lost,  Agesilan  and  Diane  entrust  them- 
selves to  a  small  boat,  and  after  many  narrow  escapes  from  drowning, 
they  are  cast  upon  a  barren  shore,  where  they  fully  expected  to 
meet  death  by  starvation. 

While  they  are  musing  upon  their  ill  fortune,  they  are  astonished 
to  see  a  knight  in  full  armour  come  saihng  through  the  air,  seated 
upon  the  back  of  a  flying  monster.  Descending,  he  picks  up  the 
unfortunate  lovers,  and  carries  them  through  the  air  to  the  Isle 
Verde,  which  is  in  the  neighborhood;  and  while  they  refresh  them- 
selves with  food  and  drink,  he  tells  them  something  of  himself. 
His  name  is  Patrifond.  He  has  had  the  misfortune  to  kill  his  own 
father,  in  a  duel,  not  recognizing  him  until  after  the  dreadful  deed 
had  been  done.  Then,  crushed  with  sorrow  and  remorse,  he  turned 
forever  from  the  society  of  men.  Passing  from  one  uninhabited 
island  to  another,  he  came  at  last  to  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon, 
in  which  the  river  Nile  has  its  source.  There,  by  a  fountain,  he 
found  a  cave,  where  he  remained  for  some  time  studying  Magic 

"Le  douzlesme  livre  d' Amadis  de  Gaule  .  .  .  Traduit  d'Espaignol  en  Franfois 
par  G.  Aubert  de  Poitiers  .  .  .  1556. 

"Don  Florisel  de  Niquca.  Parte  tercera  de  la  Coronica  del  muy  excelente 
Principe  don  Florisel  de  Niquea.  En  la  qual  trata  de  las  grandes  hazanas  de  los 
excelentissimos  Principes  Don  Rogel  de  Grecia,  y  el  segundo  Agesilao.    Savilla,  1546. 


74  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

and  Astronomy.  At  last,  one  day  he  captured  a  young  animal 
which  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  offspring  of  a  grifhn  and  a  lion 
that  he  had  killed  as  they  came  to  drink  at  the  fountain,  and, 
therefore,  he  christened  it  Grifaleon.  He  trained  it,  accustomed 
it  to  saddle  and  bridle,  and  found,  much  to  his  astonishment,  that 
it  could  move  through  the  air  with  the  grace  and  speed  of  an  eagle. 
It  was  upon  this  mount  that  he  first  appeared  to  the  awe-struck 
Agesilan.  Upon  one  of  his  many  journeys  on  Grifaleon,  he  dis- 
covered the  Isle  Verde,  where  he  took  up  his  abode  in  a  dark  and 
somber  valley.  Daily,  for  the  purification  of  his  soul,  he  dressed 
himself  in  his  hermit's  apparel,  bathed  his  face  and  hands  in  the 
fountain,  and  kneehng,  prayed  to  God. 

But  his  unexpected  guests  bring  disruption  of  this  quiet  life. 
He  no  sooner  sees  Diane  than  the  weakness  of  the  flesh  proves 
stronger  than  all  his  piety.  He  loves  her,  and  he  is  filled  with 
despair  because  he  believes  her  to  be  already  the  wife  of  Agesilan. 
In  desperation  he  determines  to  turn  to  practical  account  the 
magic  which  he  has  studied  through  all  his  years  of  lonehness. 
At  sunrise,  on  the  morning  after  their  arrival,  Agesilan,  on  waking, 
sees  a  stag  run  by  the  cave  in  which  they  have  slept,  and,  think- 
ing to  capture  it  for  food,  he  gives  chase.  Diane  awakes  at  this 
juncture,  and,  not  seeing  her  lover,  hurries  out  of  the  cave  to 
seek  him.  Here  she  sees  a  horse  with  bridle  and  saddle,  all  ready 
to  be  mounted;  and  belie\'ing  that  she  hears  the  voice  of  her  lover, 
and  that  she  catches  sight  of  him  vanishing  through  the  trees, 
she  mounts  the  horse,  and  rides  hurriedly  in  that  direction. 

Now  as  might  be  readily  suspected,  this  is  only  a  ruse  on  the 
part  of  Patrifond  to  separate  the  two  lovers.  The  stag  and  the 
horse  are  not  real,  but  merely  the  creations  of  his  art.  Well  pleased 
with  the  success  of  his  scheme,  he  follows  after  the  Princess,  and, 
overtaking  her,  protests  his  affection  with  uncommon  vehemence. 
At  a  critical  moment  for  his  own  reputation  as  a  pious  anchorite, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  lady's  safety,  corsairs  bear  down  upon  them 
and  carry  her  away.  Patrifond  is  powerless  to  recover  her;  and 
after  allowing  his  feehngs  to  subside,  he  regards  the  incident  as 
the  fortunate  intervention  of  divine  Providence. 

Meanwhile  Agesilan  has  given  up  the  pursuit  of  the  stag,  and 
returned  to  the  cave.  Finding  neither  Diane  nor  Patrifond,  he 
suspects  treachery,  and  he  loses  no  time  in  mounting  upon  Gri- 
faleon,— fortunately  left  behind  by  Patrifond,— and  setting  out 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT  75 

in  search  of  the  princess.  After  many  incredible  adventures, 
through  which  it  is  certainly  unnecessary  to  follow  him,  he  finally 
rescues  her,  in  the  Isle  Desolee,  and  together  they  proceed  to  Con- 
stantinople. 

One's  respect  for  the  suggestion  that  this  episode  may  have 
formed  the  basis  of  the  play  called  The  Solitary  Knight  is  somewhat 
increased  by  the  very  strong  probability  that  the  next  play  per- 
formed at  court,  ''The  historic  of  the  Rape  of  the  second  Helene, 
showen  at  Richmond  on  Twelfdaie  at  nighte"  (1578-9),  found  its 
source  in  the  same  romance,  Florisel  de  Niqiiea}'"  In  this  instance, 
however,  the  dramatist  has  chosen  to  depict  the  exploits  of  the 
titular  hero  himself;  that  is,  he  has  gone  to  the  first  part  of  the  ro- 
mance, the  part  corresponding  to  the  tenth  book  of  the  Amadis 
cycle.*"  Florisel  de  Niquea  is  the  son  of  Amadis  of  Greece  and 
the  Princess  Niquea,  six  generations  removed  from  his  illustrious 
ancestor  Amadis  of  Gaul.  While  visiting  in  western  Europe, 
he  inspires  an  irresistible  love  in  the  heart  of  a  certain  French 
princess  named  Helen,  who,  as  a  trouble-maker  at  least,  is  com- 
parable to  her  more  famous  predecessor  and  namesake.  She  fol- 
lows Florisel  to  the  Eastern  capital,  when  he  returns,  and  thus  the 
trouble  arises.  She  has  not  been  without  admirers  at  home,  to 
one  of  whom,  Lucidor  des  Vengeances,  she  has  even  been  betrothed. 
It  was  not  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that  he  would  tamely  submit 
to  being  robbed  of  his  lady,  even  though  she  preferred  the  rival 
suitor.  Only  war  can  wipe  out  the  disgrace  and  avenge  the  wrong. 
The  forces  of  France,  Spain,  Naples,  and  Venice,  not  to  mention 
those  of  eighteen  heathen  kings,  unite  in  an  attack  upon  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Greeks.  It  is  evident  throughout  that  the  author  model- 
led his  work  upon  the  siege  of  Troy.  Florisel  is  at  first  taken  some- 
what by  surprise.  On  returning  to  Constantinople  from  Apol- 
lonia,  he  finds  that  the  fair  Helen  has  been  seized  by  his  enemies. 
The  conflict  begins  in  earnest.  As  an  offset  to  the  gigantic  forces 
arrayed  against  him,  Florisel  counts  among  his  hosts  all  the  famous 
heroes  of  the  house  of  Amadis, — the  illustrious  founder  himself, 
Amadis  of  Gaul,  Galaor,  Florestan,  Esplandian,  and  so  on.  Their 
keen  courage  and  martial  prowess  have  been  in  nowise  impaired 

*^  Cf.  Feuillerat,  Documcnls,  p.  286  and  note. 

^*  The  French  version,  the  avenue  by  which  it  doubtless  reached  England,  was 
the  translation  by  Gilles  Boileau, — Don  Florisel  de  Niqitce  qui  fut  fils  d' Amadis  de 
Grece  d  de  la  belle  Niqide.     a  Paris,   1553. 


76  ROMANTIC  DRA]VL-\  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

by  their  long  sleep  in  the  grave.  In  spite  of  all  this,  however, 
the  besiegers  have  the  victory  at  last.  But  Lucidor  des  Vengean- 
ces, with  fine  scorn,  abandons  his  faithless  lady  to  the  lover  of  her 
choice. 

The  obvious  imitation  in  all  this  of  the  siege  of  Troy,  and  the 
application  of  the  specific  epithet  "second  Helen"  to  the  French 
Princess,  leave  little  doubt  that  it  served  as  a  basis  for  the  English 
court  play  mentioned  above. 

There  is  a  very  strong  probability  that  Spanish  romance  of 
chivalry  also  furnished  the  material  for  the  play  called  The  Knight 
in  the  Burning  Rock,  "showen  at  Whitehall  on  Shrovetuesdaie 
(1579)  at  nighte  enacted  by  the  Earl  of  Warwickes  servantes,  "^^ 
as  has  been  recently  shown  by  M.  Joseph  de  Perrot,  writing  in  the 
Reveu  Germanique}^  This  performance  seems  to  have  been  marV.ed 
by  extraordinary  elaborateness  and  scenic  splendor.  For  no  other 
play  of  the  period  have  we  such  full  and  suggestive  details  of 
staging  and  dramatic  accessories.  We  learn,  for  instance,  that 
the  action  culminated  inside  a  huge  rock,  so  high  that  a  ladder 
wa§  required  to  mount  it;  that  in  its  construction,  building  material 
sufficient  almost  for  a  house  was  employed,  and  that  the  exterior 
was  covered  completely  with  holly  and  ivy.  Above  the  rock  was 
a  blue  canopy  representing  a  cloud,  and  fitted  with  a  mechanism 
by  which  it  could  be  raised  and  lowered,  while  within  it  tongues 
of  flame,  produced,  it  seems,  by  burning  aqua  vita,  played  about 
the  hero,  the  burning  knight,  who  was  seated  upon  a  stool.  Such 
stage  effects  are  surprisingly  elaborate,  considering  the  early  date 
of  the  play,  though  masks  at  the  court  had  for  a  century  or  more 
been  presented  ^\dth  increasing  splendor.  The  prosaic  minutae 
of  all  this  gorgeousness  may  prove  interesting.  The  most  signi- 
ficant items  gathered  from  the  account  rolls  are  as  follows: 

''Jon  Rose  seniour  for  mony  by  hym  disbursed,  viz.  for  Lead 
for   the  chaire  of  the  burnyng  knighte  .   .   .  ij^ 

"For  certeyne  parcells  by  him  bestowed  in  and  About  A  rock 
at  the  courte  for  A  plaie  enacted  by  the  Earle  of  Warwickes  ser- 
vauntes:  viz 

Longe  spare  poles  of  furre  .   .   .  vj  *    x  '^. 
peeces  of  Elme  cutt  compasse  .   .   .  iiij  ^ 

*'  Feuillerat,   Documents,  p.   303. 
"Vol.  VII,  pp.  421  ff. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         77 

"For  naylcs  of  sondrcy  sortcs  used  abowte  the  Clowde  and 
drawing  it  up  and  down  .  .  .  vj  *  viij  ''.  John  Drawater  ...  for 
...  a  hoope  and  blewe  Lynnen  cloth  to  mend  the  clowde  that 
was  Borrowed  and  cut  to  serve  the  rockc  in  the  plaie  of  the  burning 
knight  ,   .   .  X  '. 

''Ulryck  Nelsley  for  mending  a  scalling  Ladder  that  served  at 
the  Rock  .   .   .  viij  "*. 

''John  Davyes  ...  for  Ivie  and   holly  for  the  Rock  for  the 
playe  enacted  by  the  E.  of  Warwickes  servantes,  iiij  ^  ii  '^. 
"Aquavite  to  burn  in  the  same  Rock  .   .   .  iij  ^ 
"Rose  water  to  Alay  the  smell  thereof  .   .   .  xij  '^."  ' 

An  extract  from  Le  Chevalier  du  Soleil,  covering  the  episode 
of  the  Burning  Knight,  has  been  published  by  M.  de  Perrot  in 
Reveu  Germanique,  as  noted  above.  The  original  romance  is  the 
Spanish  Espejo  de  Principes  y  Cavalleros,  written  by  Diego  Or- 
tunez,  about  1562.  A  short  while  before  the  performance  of  the 
play  at  the  English  court,  the  romance  had  been  translated  into 
English  directly  from  the  Spanish  original,  with  the  title,  "The 
first  part  of  the  Mirrour  of  Princely  Deeds  and  Knighthood  .  .  . 
newlv  translated  out  of  Spanish  into  our  vulgar  English  tongue, 
by  M(argaret)  T(iler).  London,  Thomas  East,  \S19V^  "The 
second  part  of  the  first  book  of  the  Myrrour  of  Knighthood" 
appeared  in  1582. 

The  events  leading  up  to  the  climax  of  the  episode,  the  rescue 
of  the  Burning  Knight,  are  recounted  by  the  heroine  to  le  Cheva- 
lier de  I'Amour,  who  later  performs  the  rescue.  She  tells  him  how 
her  father,  a  famous  magician,  and  brother  of  the  king  of  the  coun- 
try, whose  name  is  Palidarque,  took  up  his  abode  within  the  solemn 
recesses  of  some  lofty  mountains;  but  not  wishing  his  daughter  to 
be  deprived  of  the  advantages  of  human  companionship  and  asso- 
ciation, he  sends  her  to  the  court  of  his  brother,  the  king.  Here 
she  meets  the  young  Prince  Lucinde,  her  cousin,  who  loses  no  time 
in  falhng  in  love  with  her.  Being  a  very  dashing  young  cavaUer, 
who  in  valor  and  courtesy  surpasses  all  the  knights  of  the  kingdom, 
he  finds  his  wooing  entirely  agreeable  to  the  lady,  and  under  solemn 
assurance  of  marriage  he  works  his  will  with  his  fair  cousin. 

Her  father,  having  now  grown  old  and  knowing  that  he  must 
soon  die,  is  anxious  to  see  his  daughter  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor 

<'  Hazlitt,  Handbook,  p.  321. 


78  ROMANTIC  DIL^MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

of  matronly  safety,  and  returns  from  his  mountain  retreat  to  choose 
for  her  a  husband  fitting  her  rank  and  station.  He  soon  learns 
the  truth,  and,  seconded  by  his  royal  brother,  he  tries  in  every 
way  to  induce  the  Prince  to  yield  to  considerations  of  honor,  and 
right  the  wrong  he  has  done.  But  all  entreaty  is  without  avail. 
Determined  that  such  unfaithfulness  shall  receive  its  just  punish- 
ment, her  father  decides  to  have  recourse  to  his  powers  of  magic. 
He  causes  the  Prince  to  be  transported  to  a  chamber  filled  with 
roaring  flames,  situated  in  a  region  so  inaccessible  that  it  can  be 
reached  by  only  one  entrance,  and  that  through  a  secret  and  dread- 
ful cavern.  Here  in  the  midst  of  flame,  the  Prince  sits  helplessly 
upon  a  chair  while  all  hope  of  rescue  or  relief  dies  in  his  soul.  His 
suffering  is  dreadful.  His  cries  chill  the  blood  of  all  who  hear 
them.  And  the  magician  upon  whom  he  has  brought  dishonor 
has  decreed  that  he  shall  find  relief  only  when  there  shall  arrive 
a  knight  who,  for  his  valor,  is  worthy  to  drink  at  "la  fontaine  des 
Sauvages,"  who  is  wise  enough  to  find  the  hidden  entrance  to  the 
chamber,  and  bold  enough  to  brave  its  terrors.  Furthermore,  he 
shall  surpass  the  Prince  in  valor  and  shall  overthrow  him  in  single 
combat.  Having  delivered  himself  of  this  cheering  prophecy,  the 
magician  dies,  and  leaves  the  lady,  his  daughter,  with  additional 
sorrow. 

At  this  point  the  direct  action  begins.  The  lady  has  remained 
faithful  to  the  Prince  in  spite  of  his  perfidy,  and  feels  his  sufferings 
quite  as  keenly  as  he  himself  feels  them.  She  has  related  her 
griefs  to  the  Knight  of  Love  in  the  hope  that  in  him  the  liberator 
of  her  beloved  Prince  has  been  found.  She  is  not  deceived.  The 
Knight  of  Love  is  deeply  impressed  with  her  story,  and  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  unfaithful  lover  has  suffered  long  enough,  and, 
moreover,  that  he  will  now  prove  amenable  to  reason.  Fulfilling 
all  the  terms  of  the  prophecy,  he  penetrates  through  rocky  caverns 
until  he  reaches  the  chamber  in  which  the  Prince  is  imprisoned.  A 
fearful  fight  ensues,  each  knight  using  his  sword  with  great  vigor, 
and  raining  blows  upon  his  antagonist.  The  Knight  of  Love  is 
finally  victorious,  and  seizing  the  Prince,  he  drags  him  to  safety. 
Upon  reaching  firm  ground,  however,  he  lays  down  the  only  con- 
dition upon  which  the  Prince  may  escape  with  his  life;  namely, 
that  he  freely  confess  the  truth,  and  repair  the  injury  he  has  done 
the  lady  by  making  her  his  wife.  The  Prince  assures  him  that 
he  shall  be  only  too  glad  to  comply  with  this  demand.     "Lors  le 


THE  EARLY  ROML-VNTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT        79 

Chevalier  de  I'Amour  se  leva,  et  luy  tendit  la  main.  Lucinde 
et  la  belle  dame  .  .  .  s'embrassercnt  alors  de  grande  amour, 
comme  ceux  qui  s'aymoient  parfaitemcnt." 

This  completes  the  list  of  court  plays  of  the  decade  1570-1580 
which  appear  upon  good  evidence  to  have  found  their  material 
in  romances  of  heroic  adventure. ^"^  Of  the  remaining  plays  of  the 
period  whose  titles  are  suggestive  of  romantic  themes,  it  is  of  course 
impossible  to  speak  with  anything  approaching  assurance.  Several 
however,  appear  to  be  of  Italian  origin.  The  play  called  Cloridon  and 
Radwiante,  presented  before  the  Queen  by  Sir  Robert  Lane's  men 
on  Shrove  Tuesday,  1672,^' may  have  been  founded  upon  theOrlan- 
do  Furioso.  In  the  thirty-second  Canto  of  that  work  Clodion  and 
Bradamente  are  important  characters.  There  are  many  instances 
of  the  distorted  spelling  of  proper  names  in  the  records  of  the  Revels 
office.  .  The  names  as  they  stand  in  the  title  are  not  met  with  else- 
where. 

Mediaeval  legend  perhaps  lay  at  the  foundation  of  the  ''Lady 
Barbara]  showen  by  Sir  Robert  Lane's  men  on  Saint  Johns  dale 
at  nighte  (15 7 2). "^2  j^  vv^as  probably  a  secularization  of  the  theme 
upon  which  a  large  number  of  the  saint's  plays  of  the  Middle  Ages 
were  based,  the  story  of  Madonna  Barbara,  who  suffered  martyr- 
dom for  her  faith.  Her  fortitude,  together  with  the  tortures 
through  which  she  passed,  had  all  the  romantic  elements  of  wonder 
and  awe  common  to  the  saints'  legends.  Creizenach  records  the 
performance  of  a  play  upon  the  theme  in  the  Low  Countries  as 
late  as  1568.^3  Two  surviving  plays  deahng  with  the  legend  are 
described  in  the  Catalogue  de  la  Bibliotheque  Dramatique  of  M.  de 

^"Attention  might  he  called  in  this  connection  to  the  play  entitled  The  Red  Knight 
performed  at  Bristol  in  1576  (cf.  Northbrook's  Treatise,  Shak.  Soc.  Pub.  XII,  p.  x). 
It  is  quite  unsafe  to  identify  the  knights  of  heroic  romance  on  the  basis  of  color,  since 
some  of  them  had  the  faculty  of  changing  their  hue  as  the  occasion  required.  But 
one  Red  Knight  is  universally  famous.  He  is  the  bold  character  who  entered  Cai duel 
while  Arthur  was  banquetting  there,  and  bore  of  the  King's  cup,  "none  daring  to 
hinder  him."  Cf.  the  Romance  of  Sir  Fercival. 

5'  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  145. 

^-Ihld.  Barbara  is  the  name  of  the  lady  in  Masuccio's  version  of  the  Fifth  Evan- 
gel story  {The  Novelinno,  of  Masuccio,  ed.  by  Walters,  pp.  34-44)  but  it  is  difficult  to 
believe  that  this  repulsive  tale  might  have  furnished  the  plot  of  the  play. 

^^Geschichle  des  Nciircn  Dramas,  III,  450. 


80  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Solienne.^^  M.  Petit  de  Jullville^^  analyzes  at  some  length  one 
of  the  two  extant  French  mysteres  which  treat  the  legend  of  Saint 
Barbara.  The  play  is  "en  cinq  journees,"  and  the  dramatis 
personae  include  one  hundred  performers.  The  outhne  of  the 
action  is  as  follows: 

Premiere  journee.  Dioscorus,  king  of  Nicomedia,  whose  wife 
is  but  lately  dead,  seeks  to  forget  his  sorrows  by  directing  the  edu- 
cation of  his  daughter,  the  Lady  Barbara.  He  employs  as  his 
aids  two  wise  doctors  and  philosophers,  Alphons  and  Amphoras. 
They  read  to  the  young  girl  from  pagan  authors  and  from  Boccac- 
cio, and  expound  the  religion  and  philosophy  of  the  heathen  gods. 
Under  this  treatment  the  young  lady  falls  asleep,  and  while  she 
sleeps,  the  Holy  Virgin  prays  God  to  enhghten  her.  The  lesson 
is  resumed,  but  this  time  the  girl  denies  strenuously  the  existence 
of  the  pagan  gods,  and  silences  the  wise  doctors.  Shortly  after, 
the  King  makes  a  solemn  sacrifice  to  appease  them  for  such  blas- 
phemy, and  while  this  is  in  progress,  Barbara  converses  with  an 
obscure  Christian,  w^hose  words  sow  the  first  seeds  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  in  her  soul. 

(Seconde  journee).  Rifjfiemant,  Prince  of  Persia,  becomes 
enamored  of  Barbara  during  the  sacrificial  ceremonies,  and  demands 
her  in  marriage.  She  refuses.  As  she  dwells  in  a  tower  which  her 
father  has  caused  to  be  built,  to  safeguard  her  from  evil  influences, 
she  receives  secretly  a  Christian  sent  from  Alexandria  by  Origenes, 
bishop  of  that  place.  Lucifer  inspires  Dioscorus  with  the  idea  of 
persecuting  the  Christians.  He  begins  with  an  attack  upon  Alex- 
andria, but  is  repulsed  with  loss  by  the  Christians  led  by  Origenes. 

(Troisieme  journee).  John  the  Baptist  comes  in  person  to 
baptize  Barbara.  Dioscorus  returns,  burning  with  fury  against  the 
Christains.  The  girl  unfortunately  chooses  this  moment  to  avow 
her  faith.  The  king  tries  to  pierce  her  with  his  sword,  but  she 
miraculously  escapes, — is  pursued,  caught,  and  put  in  prison. 
Dioscorus  delivers  her  to  the  brutal  provost,  Marcian,  who  is  very 
cruel. 

s*  I.  106-7. 

''  Les  Mysteres,  Paris,  1880,  T.  II,  pp.  478-86.  This  mystcre  is  in  manuscript 
only.  A  "Vie  de  Sainte  Barbe,  en  deii.x  journees,"  was  printed  at  Rouen  by  Jehan 
Jehannot  about  1520.  It  is  much  shorter  than  the  former,  and  provides  for  only 
thirty-eight  actors.     Cf.  Les  Mysteres,  T.  II,  pp.  486-88. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         81 

(Quatrieme  journec).  The  torture  of  Barbara  continues.  She 
sings  praises  to  God  while  her  tormentors  exhaust  themselves  with 
beating  her.  Among  other  punishments,  she  is  condemned  to 
be  led  naked  through  the  streets  of  the  city,  but  just  as  the  journey 
is  about  to  begin,  an  angel  descends  and  envelops  her  in  a  robe. 
The  jailers  flee  in  terror,  and  report  the  matter  to  Dioscorus. 

(Cinquieme  journee).  The  king  devises  new  and  more  terri- 
ble punishments;  but  all  proving  unavailing,  he  drags  his  daughter 
by  the  hair  to  the  top  of  a  mountain,  and  prepares  to  execute  her 
with  his  own  hands.  As  the  blow  descends,  he  is  struck  dead  by 
a  thunder-bolt  from  heaven.  His  soul  is  carried  away  by  demons, 
while  that  of  his  daughter  is  conducted  by  angels  to  Paradise. 
Then  follows  a  scene  in  the  infernal  regions.  The  devils  welcome 
Dioscorus  with  scoffs  and  jests  as  they  dance  about  him  in  derision. 

The  plays  for  the  year  1574  present  a  tangle  which  tempts  one 
to  interesting  even  though  profitless  speculation.  Under  the  head 
of  "Peruzing  and  Reforming  of  playes,"  in  the  records  covering 
the  period  between  November  1,  1574  and  February  15,  1575 
there  appears  the  item:  "The  expences  and  charges  wheare  my 
Lord  Chamberlain's  players  did  show  the  history  of  Phedrastus 
and  Phigon  and  Lucia  together  amounteth  unto  .  .  .  ix  '  iiij  "^."^^ 
How  many  plays  were  performed,  one,  two,  or  three?  Collier 
sees  in  the  entry  two  plays:  "The  history  of  Phedrastus"  and 
"Phigon  and  Lucia.""  Fleay  is  of  the  opinion  that  three  plays 
were  performed.^^  Professor  Feuillerat,  in  commenting  upon  the 
entry,  says:  "It  seems  to  me  that  this  may  just  as  well  be  the 
title  of  one  single  play,  for  the  meaning  of  the  sentence  is,  not 
that  two  or  three  plays  were  shown  together,  but  that  "the  charges 
and  expenses  together  amounteth  to,"  a  phrase  often  met  with  in 
the  accounts,  and  synonymous  with  'in  all  amounteth  to.'  "^^ 
The  confusion  is  further  increased  by  the  entry  for  the  year  pre- 
ceding, of  a  play  called  "Predor  and  Lucia,  played  by  "Thcrle 
of  Leceisters  servants  upon  Saint  stevens  daye  at  nighte  at  white- 
hall  aforesaide.  "«o     Feuillerat 's  suggestion  that  Phedrastus,  Phi- 

"  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  238. 
"  Hist.  Dram.  Lit.,  I,  226. 
'*  Biographical  Chronicle,  11,  290. 
"  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  459. 
«» Ibid.  p.  193. 


82  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

gon,  and  Lucia  refer  to  a  single  play  seems,  however,  to  be  probable. 
The  clerk  is  indicating  the  play  simply  by  naming  the  prominent 
characters.  But  whether  the  other  entries  refer  to  this  same  play, 
is  difficult  to  decide.  It  hardly  seems  likely  that  the  play  of  Lucia 
presented  before  the  Queen  in  1573  would  have  been  subjected 
to  "peruzing  and  reforming"  with  a  view  to  a  second  presenta- 
tion in  1574.  The  following  is  offered  as  a  possible  explanation 
of  the  difficulty:  The  Lucia  of  1573  is  another  secularized  saints' 
legend,  as  was  the  Lady  Barbara  of  the  year  before.  Lucia  was  a 
martyr  of  the  primitive  church  in  Syracuse,  who  perished  during 
the  persecutions  of  the  Christians  by  Diocletian.  Her  story  was 
frequently  presented  by  the  religious  drama  of  the  fifteenth  and 
early  sixteenth  centuries. ^^  She  rejected  the  pagan  suitor  that  had 
been  chosen  for  her,  was  denounced  as  a  Christian,  condemned  to 
pass  a  certain  time  as  a  public  prostitute,  and  then  be  put  to  death. 
She  escaped  a  part,  at  least,  of  this  punishment  by  dying  in  prison. 
There  is  nothing  improbable  in  the  suggestion  that  these  themes 
were  utilized  for  secular  presentation  at  this  time.  They  had,  in 
fact,  much  to  recommend  them.  Their  sensational  incidents  not 
only  would  appeal  to  the  dull  sense  of  wonder  and  awe,  but  their 
burden  of  cruelty  and  horror  would  prove  tempting  to  tastes 
which  we  know  to  have  been  especially  prevalent  among  the 
Ehzabethans  There  is  plenty  of  evidence,  moreover,  that  in  a 
secularized  form  they  continued  to  be  popular  both  in  fiction  and 
in  the  drama.  The  legend  of  Dorothea,  identical  in  its  leading 
incidents  with  that  of  Lucia,  was  the  subject  of  an  early  play  by 
Dekker,  which  was  refashioned  by  Massinger  in  1622  as  The  Vir- 
gin Martyr.  Fleay  identifies  both  of  these  with  the  old  Admiral's 
play  of  Diocletian,  performed  in  1594,  which  he  says  was  itself  an 
old  play  revived.''^  Fair  Constance  of  Rome,  for  which  Henslowe 
"paid  on  behalf  of  the  Admiral's  men"  five  pounds  to  Dekker, 
in  1600,''3  was  evidently  the  ''persecuted  wife"  story  which  in  its 
several  versions  was  popular  on  the  mediaeval  rehgious  stage. 
The  entries  in  Henslowe's  Diary,  April,  1599,  for  money  paid  to 
Chettle  "for  his  booke  of  Plasidas"  have  been  pronounced  by 
Greg  to  be  forgeries."^^     But  we  know  that  the  legend  of  Placidas 

"Petit  de  Jiilleville,  Les  Mysteres,  II,  631,  also  II,  181  ff. 

^^  Chronicle,  I,  121  ff. 

^^  Henslowe's  Diary,  Ed.  by  Greg,  I,  p.  214. 

^*  Ibid.  I.  61. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT  83 

was  widely  current  in  England  during  the  sixteenth  century.  It 
was  the  subject  of  a  play  of  the  interlude  type,  written  presumably 
by  Nicholas  Udall  and  presented  in  1534  at  Braintree,  during 
Udall's  vicarage  there.*'^  In  1566  appeared  John  Partridge's 
"Worthie  Hystorie  of  the  most  Noble  and  Valiant  Knight  Pla- 
sidas,"  which  is  reprinted  by  Collier  in  his  Illustrations  of  Old 
English  Poetry f'^  The  story  forms  chapter  ex.  of  the  Gesta  Roman- 
oru7n,  and  is  found  also  in  Caxton's  Golden  Legend.  It  is  perhaps 
better  known  under  its  mediaeval  title  of  St.  Eustace. 

Now  the  other  names  associated  with  Lucia  in  the  entries  of 
1574,  Phedrastus,  Phigon,  and  Predor,  are  not  suggestive  of  the 
saints'  legend.  They  savor  rather  of  Italian  comedy.  A  Plau- 
tine  comedy  entitled  Lucia  was  written  by  an  ItaHan  schoolmaster 
named  Giralamo  Fondali,  about  1547,  according  to  Creizenach," 
and  acted  repeatedly  in  Italy  about  that  time.  The  play  has  since 
perished,  however,  only  a  few  lines  of  the  prologue  having  survived. 
It  is  possible  that  the  Phedrastus-Phigon-Lucia  play  of  1574 
was  founded  upon  this  or  upon  some  adaptation  of  it — brought  by 
the  Italian  players  who  are  known  to  have  been  in  England  at  this 
period;  for  in  the  accounts  of  the  Revels  from  March  to  November, 
1573,  we  find  items  covering  the  expenses  "For  the  Progresse  to 
Reading,  etc.  And  Lykewyze  for  the  Ayrings,  Repairings,  Trans- 
latings,  preparing,  fyttings,  furnishing,  Garnishing,  Attending,  and 
setting  foorth  of  sundry  kyndes  of  Apparell,  property s,  and  furny- 
ture  for  the  Italyan  players  that  followed  the  progress  and  made 
pastyme  first  at  Wynsor  and  after  at  Reading.  "'^^ 

The  Philemon  and  Phelicia  given  by  the  Earl  of  Leicester's 
men  before  the  Queen  on  Shrove  Monday,  1574,^^  was  probably 
romantic,  though  no  specific  sources  for  it  can  be  conjectured  on 
the  basis  of  the  names  which  occur  in  the  title. 

"The  hystorie  of  the  CoUyer  showen  at  Hampton  Court  on  the 
Sunday  following  St.  Johns  Day"  (1576),^^  by  the  Earl  of  Lei- 
cester's men,  was  perhaps,  as  Feuillerat  suggests,  a  presentation  of 

«  Chambers,  Med.  Stage,  II,  192-3. 

"  Cf.  also  Collier,  Bibliographical  Account,  II,   117. 

"  Geschichte  dcs  neueren  Dramas,  II,   79. 

"  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  225. 

''Ibid. 

"  Ibid.  p.  256. 


84  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Grim  the  Collier,  a  favorite  character  with  the  early  English  dra- 
matists. The  play  in  question  may  have  been  a  re-presentation 
of  Ulpian  Fulwell's  Like  Will  to  Like,  which  was  printed  in  1568. 
The  story  of  Grim  furnishes  an  episode  in  Richard  Edwards'  Damon 
and  Pythias,  of  1564.  The  extant  Grim  the  Collier  is  held  by 
Fleay,^^  who  is  followed  by  Dr.  Ward/^  to  be  the  Devil  and  His 
Dame  mentioned  in  Henslowe's  Diary,  and  said  to  have  been  pub- 
lished in  1600.  But  no  edition  of  so  early  a  date  is  extant,  and  as 
Farmer  quite  correctly  observes, '^^  the  surviving  play  bears  marks 
of  unrestricted  adaptation  at  the  hands  of  some  Restoration  dra- 
matist. 

The  story  of  Grim  is  to  be  called  romantic  only  in  origin.  Like 
Griselda,  it  had  long  been  popularized.  The  original  of  it  appears 
to  be  the  fourth  novel  of  Giovanni  Brevio,  which  in  outline  is  as 
follows:  All  the  souls  who  came  to  hell  complained  that  they  had 
been  brought  there  by  their  wives.  After  a  council  in  hell,  it  is 
decided  to  send  the  demon  Belphegor  to  earth,  have  him  choose  a 
wife,  live  with  her  ten  years,  and  then  report  in  hell  as  to  the  bene- 
fits and  burdens  of  matrhnony.  Ten  years'  experience  as  the 
husband  of  a  shrew  is  enough  to  convince  Belphegor  that  previous 
reports  reaching  hell  have  not  been  exaggerated.''^ 

"The  charges  and  expences  wheare  my  Lord  of  Leicester's 
men  showed  their  matter  of  Panecia"^^  may  be  a  trace  left  upon 
the  records  of  the  Revels  ofhce  by  a  pre-Shakespearean  play  upon 
the  story  of  Much  Ado.  We  have  some  evidence  to  support  the 
theory  that  such  a  play  once  existed.  The  old  German  play  by 
Jacob  Ayrer,  Die  Schone  Phoenicia'^^  and  Much  Ado  trace  their 
plot  material  ultimately  to  the  same  source,  Bandello  1.22.  But 
both  plays  have  details  in  common  which  are  not  found  in  Ban- 
dello, thus  lending  support  to  the  theory  that  they  had  a  common 
source  in  some  older  English  play.^^  The  ItaHan  novel,  a  version 
of  which  is  to  be  found  in  Belleforest's  Histoires  Tragiques,  occurs 

"  Chronicle,  I,  273. 

~'^  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.  I,  263.  y 

''^  Five  Anonymous  Plays,  London,  1908;  pp.  315  ff. 
^^Cf.   Dunlop,   History  of  Fiction,   II,    100-103. 
^*  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  238. 

^'  Printed  in  part  by  Cohen,  Shakespeare  in  Germany,  pp.  76  ff. 
"  For  a  discussion  of  this  question,  see  Cohen,  pp.  Ixxi  ff.  and  Wodick,  Jacob 
Ayrers  Dramtn.  Halle,  1912,  pp.  48  ff. 


THE  EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  OF  THE  COURT         85 

also  in  Orlando  Furioso,  book  v,  which  was  translated  into  English 
by  Beverly  in  1562.  According  to  Harrington,  whose  own  trans- 
lation of  Ariosto  was  made  in  1591,  this  particular  story  had  been 
told  in  verse  by  Turberville  many  years  earlier. 

"A  pastorell  or  historic  of  A  Greek  maide,  shewen  at  Richmond 
on  the  sondaie  next  after  Newe  yeares  dale,  (1579)  enacted  by 
the  Earl  of  Leicester's  servants,  "^^  ^lay  have  been  a  pure 
pastoral,  or  it  may  possible  have  been  founded  upon  the  Greek 
pastoral  romance  of  Longus,  Daphnis  and  Chine,  a  translation  of 
which  had  been  made  by  Amyot  in  1559. 

"The  Duke  of  Millan  and  the  Marquis  of  Mantua"  was  the 
title  of  a  play  presented  before  the  Queen  sometime  during  Christ- 
mas, 1579.^9  xhe  title  is  redolent  of  Itahan  novelle,  though  no 
story  is  known  from  which  the  play  may  have  come.  There  is  in 
Lyly's  Euphues  a  reference  to  an  intrigue  between  the  Duchess  of 
Milan  and  the  Marquis  of  Mantua,  which  may  have  some  connec- 
tion with  the  play,  but  the  passage  is  too  vague  to  be  in  any  way 
illuminating. 

"The  historic  of  Titus  and  Gisippus,  showen  at  Whitehall  on 
Shrovetuysdaye  at  night,  (1579)  enacted  by  the  Children  of  Pow- 
les"8o  was  doubtless  a  dramatic  rendition  of  the  tale  of  romantic 
friendship  bearing  that  title,  which  Boccaccio  has  told  in  the  De- 
cameron, tenth  day,  novel  eight.  The  story  was  known  in  England 
under  its  Itahan  title  even  before  its  incorporation  into  The  Govenor 
by  Sir  Thomas  Elyot.^i  It  was  translated  directly  from  Boccaccio 
into  English  verse  by  Edward  Lowicke  in  1562.  The  mediaeval 
story  of  Athis  et  Prophilias,  which  Boccaccio  combined  with  a 
tale  from  Petrus  Alphonsus,  is  believed  to  have  been  founded  upon 
a  lost  Greek  original. ^^ 

This  completes  the  list  of  lost  plays  drawn  apparently  from 
romantic  sources,  which  were  presented  at  court  between  1570  and 
1580.  After  the  last-named  date  the  fashion  in  romantic  comedy 
seems  to  have  changed  somewhat,  the  dramatized  heroic  romance 

''  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  286. 

"  Ibid.  p.  320. 

»Ubid.p.  270. 

8'Bk.  II,  Chap.  12. 

»2Cf.  Wolff,  Greek  Romances,  p.  137.  Voretzsch,  Altjranzosischc  Litcratnr 
p.  379.  "Titus  and  Gisippus"  is  the  subject  of  a  French  drama  by  Hardy,  entitled 
"Gesippe,  ou  Les  Deux  Amis." 


86  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

and  novella  being  superseded  by  the  mythological-pastoral  type 
of  play  introduced  by  Lyly  and  Peele,  and  the  freer  handling  of 
romantic  material  as  seen  in  the  plays  of  Greene.  The  Felix  and 
Fehsmena  episode  of  Montemayor's  Diana  was  the  subject  of  a 
play  presented  before  the  Queen  at  Greenwich  on  Sunday  after 
New  Year's,  1585.^^  After  this,  the  form  of  dramatic  activity 
which  we  have  been  considering  seems  to  have  been  abandoned  for 
a  while. 

We  have  in  these  ten  years  a  body  of  romantic  drama  that  is 
certainly  not  insignificant  in  amount,  whatever  may  have  been  its 
artistic  quality.  Its  literary  and  dramatic  merits  we  have  small 
means  of  judging,  since  the  plays  themselves  have  almost  all 
perished.  But  probably  English  literature  has  not  suffered  greatly 
in  their  disappearance.  The  period  of  development  which  the 
artistic  drama  was  then  passing  through,  together  with  the  essen- 
tially undramatic  character  of  much  of  the  material  put  upon  the 
stage,  leads  one  to  suspect  that  these  plays  represented,  for  the 
most  part,  crude  and  formless  work.  This  conclusion  is  strength- 
ened, too,  by  the  reflection  which  we  obtain  of  them  in  the 
criticism  of  the  time.  It  is  not  unbiased  criticism,  to  be  sure. 
Much  of  it  is  simply  an  expression  of  the  bitter  hostility  of  early 
Puritanism  toward  the  stage  as  the  enemy  of  religion  and  morality. 
Other  critical  attacks  come  from  men  who  are  completely  sub- 
servient to  classical  standards,  and  are  therefore  keenly  intolerant 
of  the  exuberance  and  artistic  aggressiveness  of  this  youthful 
romantic  drama.  But  with  liberal  allowance  for  classical  pre- 
judice and  religious  hostility,  this  criticism,  together  with  such 
other  information  as  is  obtainable,  leaves  us  with  the  distinct 
impression  that  the  most  significant  aspect  of  this  body  of  drama- 
tic literature  was  its  promise  for  the  future. 

•'  Feuillerat,  Documents,  p.  365. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Early  Surviving  Romantic  Plays 

The  first  period  in  the  history  of  the  EUzabethan  court  drama, 
which  we  may  conveniently  think  of  as  ending  about  1580  with  the 
appearance  of  Lyly  and  Peele,  is  one  of  prime  importance  histori- 
cally, though  its  actual  contribution  to  the  existing  body  of  drama- 
tic literature  is  comparatively  slight.  Not  much  of  its  vigorous 
productivity  has  escaped  oblivion.  Of  the  fifty  or  more  plays 
mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  Revels  Office  between  1568  and 
1580,  there  is  a  possibiUty  that  two  or  three  have  reached  posterity 
in  the  shape  of  subsequent  revisions  or  adaptations.  All  the  rest 
doubtless  perished  with  the  rapid  destruction  of  the  rough  manu- 
scripts which  served  the  purpose  of  the  actors.  The  life  history 
of  most  of  them  perhaps  extended  no  further  than  a  brief  reign 
of  favor  upon  the  popular  stage,  from  which,  a'lter  censorship  and 
revision  by  the  Master  of  the  Revels,  they  were  chosen  for  pre- 
sentation before  the  Queen. 

Nor  did  they,  when  no  longer  available  for  the  stage,  succeed 
to  the  dignity  of  publication.  We  examine  the  Stationers'  Register 
and  the  printers'  fists  in  vain  for  a  trace  of  a  single  one  of  the 
numerous  romantic  plays  d".scussed  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The 
consistency  with  which  they  were  denied  the  honors  of  the  press 
may  be  explained  in  var'ous  ways.  It  may  have  been  due  to  their 
lack  of  literary  merit;  one  would  be  slow  to  call  in  question  any 
affirmation  touchmg  their  crudity  and  want  of  art.  It  may  have 
been  that  frequent  presentation  upon  the  stage  had  so  famiUarized 
their  plots— their  ch'ef  source  of  interest— and  thus  narrowed 
the  circle  of  possible  purchasers,  as  to  make  their  publication  an 
unsafe  venture  for  the  practical  pubfisher.  The  most  effective 
reason  perhaps  was  one  alfied  to,  though  not  identical  with,  the 
last  named  consideration.  As  we  have  seen,  the  plots  of  these 
plays  were  drawn  in  almost  every  instance  from  some  current 
romance,  the  dramatist  usually  taking  advantage  of  a  recent 
translation  in  order  to  avail  himself  of  the  natural  interest  attach- 
ing to  novelty  of  incident  and  situation.  The  printed  play  would 
therefore  not  only  have  had  to  compete  for  popular  favor  with  its 
original  source,  but  would  have  had  the  additional  handicap  of  its 


88  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

own  recent  vogue  upon  the  stage;  and  the  latter  was  not  yet,  as 
it  came  later  to  be  in  the  case  of  the  mature  hterary  drama,  an 
advertising  medium  of  more  or  less  practical  utility.  In  the  case 
of  the  early  dramas  which  exploited  the  older  romantic  and  ballad 
heroes,  the  bombastic  declamation  of  acting  characters  could  be 
expected  to  offset  somewhat  the  lack  of  novelty  in  subject-matter; 
but  even  this  slender  advantage  would  be  in  a  large  measure  absent 
from  the  printed  play.  In  view  of  these  various  considerations 
which  must  have  operated  in  deterring  publishers,  it  is  hardly 
surprising  that  an  account  of  the  rise  of  Elizabethan  dramatic 
literature  must  concern  itself  at  this  period  with  a  large  body  of 
"lost"  romantic  drama. 

We  are  fortunate,  however,  in  not  being  absolutely  without 
means  of  judging  the  character  of  the  romantic  drama  during  this 
period  of  its  development.  Two  plays  have  reached  us  from  the 
decade  1570-80,  which,  in  type  of  subject-matter  as  well  as  in 
general  dramatic  method,  we  may  safely  assume  to  be  fairly  repre- 
sentative of  the  age  and  the  species  to  which  they  belong.  It  might 
be  argued  that  their  survival  in  the  midst  of  such  wholesale 
destruction  "s  e\adence  of  some  superiority  in  literary  or  dramatic 
quality  which  keeps  them  from  being  wholly  typical;  and  such  in  fact 
may  have  been  the  case.  We  can  not  pass  critical  judgment, 
either  absolute  or  relative,  upon  those  plays  which  are  no  longer 
in  existence.  The  argument  is  not  conclusive,  however.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  these  sur\dvals  escaped  the  common  fate  not 
because  they  were  less  crude  in  style  and  dramatic  technique  than 
their  contemporaries,  but  because  the  material  out  of  which  their 
plots  were  constructed  was  not  drawn  from  some  popular  current  rom- 
ance against  which  the  printed  play  would  have  had  to  compete  in  its 
bid  for  public  favor.  As  will  be  shown  below,  the  two  surviving 
plays  might  justly  lay  claim  to  the  distinction  of  novelty  in  plot  inter- 
est and  general  romantic  situation.  Their  plots  were  not  the  invention 
of  their  author  (or  authors^),  it  is  true,  but  they  were  not  readily 
accessible  in  narrative  form,  as  was  the  case  with  almost  all  of  the 
non-extant  romantic  play  discussed  in  the  preceding  chapter. 
The  two  plays  in  question  are  the  Pleasant  Comedy  of  Common 
Conditions,  and  the  purely  heroic  Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes; 
and  whether  we  regard  them  as  t}^ical  or  not,  there  can  be  little 
question  that  they  were  called  into  existence  by  the  same  demands, 

'  The  probabilitj'  of  a  common  authorship  will  be  discussed  below. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  89 

were  animated  by  the  same  spirit,  and  controlled  by  the  same 
tastes,  as  were  the  large  number  of  romantic  plays  that  passed 
into  the  limbo  of  forgotten  things  when  their  brief  stage  career 
was  ended.  They  constitute,  then,  almost  our  sole  means  of  measur- 
ing the  degree  of  development  which  the  romantic  drama  had  attained 
by  the  beginning  of  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century;  they 
possess,  on  that  account,  an  interest  entirely  incommensurate  with 
their  absolute  worth  as  dramatic  literature,  and  deserve  a  more 
respectful  consideration  at  the  hands  of  scholars  and  critics  than 
has  usually  been  accorded  them. 

Common  Conditions 
"An  excellent  and  pleasant  Comedie,  termed  after  the  name 
of  the  Vice,  Common  Conditions,  drawn  out  of  the  most  famous 
historie  of  Galiarbus  Duke  of  Arabia,  and  of  the  good  and  evill 
sucesse  of  him  and  his  two  children,  Sedmond  his  sun,  and  Clarisia 
his    daughter:  Set    foorth    with    delectable    mirth,    and   pleasant 
shewes,"  is  the  formal  caption  of  the  earUest  survival  from  the  first 
period  in  the  history  of  the  Elizabethan  romantic  drama.^     It 
was  entered  in  the  register  of  the  Stationers'  Company  to  John 
Hunter,  July  26,  1576,  and  this  entry  constitutes  the  sole  trace 
left  by  it  upon  any  contemporary  record.     Of  the  circumstances 
of  its  production  upon  the  stage  we  know  nothing  whatever.     Its 
"mirth  and  pleasant  shewes"  may  have  been  represented  for  the 
delectation  of  popular  audiences  only,  or  it  may  have  been  one  of 
the  many  unnamed  court  plays  the  performance  of  which  has  left 
indefinite  traces  in  the  records  of  the  Revels'  Office  for  the  period. 
Mr.  Brooke  suggests  indeed  that  the  uncertainty  in  which^  the 
audience  is  left  at  the  close  of  the  play  may  be  due  to  the  excision 
of  objectionable  matter  by  the  Master  of    the   Revels.     At  any 
rate,  there  is  reason  for  thinking  that  the  play  had  been  in  existence 
several  years  before  the  entry  of  it  for  pubHcation  in  1576.     Evi- 
dences based  upon  versification,  structure,  and  the  employment 
of   older  dramatic  conventions  point  to   a  date  of   composition 
not  much  later  than  1570. 

2  A  perfect  copy,  adding  nearly  five  hundred  lines  to  the  form  in  which  the  play 
had  formerly  been  known,  was  brought  to  light  not  long  ago  in  the  library  of  Lord 
Mostyn,  IMostyn  Hall,  Wales.  This  is  now  in  the  Library  of  the  Elizabethan  Club 
of  Yale  University;  and  from  it  an  excellent  edition  of  the  play  has  recently  (1915) 
been  prepared  by  Professor  Tucker  Brooke  {Elizabclhan  Club  Reprints,  Number  One), 
to  whose  Introduction  and  notes  I  am  variously  indebted. 


90  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Its  author  is  likewise  unknown.  Fleay  assigns  it  to  the  author 
of  Aphis  and  Virginia,  who  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been 
Richard  Bower,  and  to  the  same  hand  he  ascribes  the  anonymous 
Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes,  to  be  noted  later.  A  common 
authorship  for  the  two  plays  seems,  on  the  whole,  fairly  probable, 
whether  they  be  attributed  to  the  author  of  Apius  and  Virginia, 
or  to  some  other  dramatist  of  the  period.  Substantial  argument 
might  be  advanced  to  support  the  suggestion  of  Professor  Kittredge 
that  the  presence  of  the  ''Cambyses"  vein  points  to  Thomes 
Preston  as  the  author.  A  further  consideration  of  the  matter 
will  be  taken  up  in  connection  with  the  study  of  Clyomon  and 
Clamydes.^ 

But  whoever  the  unknown  poet  may  be,  he  has  shaken  off  the 
trammels  of  the  morality,  and  stands  frankly  forth  as  an  artist, 
in  purpose  if  not  in  fact.  Certain  morality  conventions  are  re- 
tained, it  is  true,  in  the  persons  of  the  vice.  Common  Conditions, 
and  the  three  wandering  tinkers  bearing  the  names  of  abstractions, 
but  these  are  given  an  essential  function  to  perform  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  romantic  plot,  and  are  not  allowed,  as  in  the  case  of 
similar  characters  in  Camhyses  and  Damon  and  Pithias,  to  work 
havoc  with  the  mood  of  the  story. 

Moreover,  we  find  in  this  play  what  may  be  termed  the  first 
independent  and  untrammeled  expression  of  the  romantic  spirit 
in  English  drama,  if  we  may  venture  to  speak  with  this  degree  of 
assurance  about  a  matter  that  is  enveloped  in  so  much  uncer- 
tainty. In  Calisto  and  Melibea  the  romantic  element  failed  to 
free  itself  from  the  didactic.  The  faint  tinges  of  romanticism 
discernible  in  Thersites  and  Misogonus  are  hardly  deserving  of 
the  name,  while  the  romantic  emergence  in  Damon  and  Pithias 
is  virtually  smothered  beneath  the  load  of  native  farce  and  pseudo- 
classicism.  But  in  Common  Conditions  its  mastery  is  supreme. 
'""The  theme  of  the  play"irThe  caprice  of  fortune  in  the  affairs  of 
lovers,  the  obstacles  that  stand  in  the  way  of  the  fulfillment  of 
their  desires,  and  the  vicissitudes  which  they  experience  in  trying 
to  overcome  these  obstacles.  Sentiment  and  adventure,  then, — 
the  universal  themes  of  romance — are  interwoven  to  form  its  plot, 
and  no  underl3dng  didactic  purpose  interferes  with  their  free  expres- 
sion. 

3  See  below,  pp.  108-9 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  91 

The  combination  of  circumstances  out  of  which  the  plot  is 
constructed  may  be  outlined  as  follows:  Through  the  intrigues 
of  Common  Conditions,  a  double-dealing  parasite  at  the  Arabian 
Court,   Galiarbus,  a  noble  duke  of  Arabia,  has  fallen  under  the 
suspicion  of  the  King,  and  is  about  to  be  sent  into  exile.     Summon- 
ing his  son  and  his  daughter,  Sedmond  and  Clarisia,  he  takes  a 
sorrowful  farewell  of  them,   and  proceeds  into  Phrygia,   leaving 
his  possessions  behind.     Immediately  upon  the  departure  of  Galiar- 
bus,  Conditions   approaches   Sedmond  and   Clarisia,   and   falsely 
informs  them  that  King  Arbaccus,  because  of  the  enmity  which  he 
bears  their  father,  is  preparing  dreadful  punishment  for  them.     He 
advises  them  to  flee  without  delay,  and  obligingly  offers  to  accom- 
pany them  as  their  servant.     So  the  three  set  out  at  once  in  the 
hope  of  finding  Galiarbus.     But  as  they  are  travelling  stealthily 
through  a  dense  forest,  in  order  to  escape  the  more  easily,  they  are 
set  upon  and  robbed  by  three  rascally  tinkers,  Shift,  Drift,  and 
Unthrift.     Sedmond  rather  unheroically  flees  at  the  attack  of  the 
robbers,  the  lady  is  bound  to  a  tree  by  them,  and  Conditions  escapes 
hanging  at  their  hands  only  by  promising  that  he  will  inflict  this 
punishment  upon  himself.     When  he  has  ascended  the  tree,  how- 
ever, with  the  rope  securely  in  his  own  hands,  he  refuses  to  carry 
out  his  agreement;  and  the  robbers,  disgusted  at  such  unfaithfulness, 
and  fearing  that  his  derisive  hoots  will  bring  someone  to  the  rescue, 
make   a   hurried   departure.     Sedmond   escapes,   and,  proceeding 
into  Phrygia,  takes  the  name  of  Nomides,  the  better  to  elude  the 
King,  and  becomes  a  "wandering  Knight. "     Clarisia,  accompanied 
by  Conditions,    continues  her  search  for  her  father.     If   fortune 
frowns  upon  the  children,  however,  she  has  at  last  begun  to  smile 
upon  the  sire.   Galiarbus  reaches  Phrygia  in  safety,  prospers,  and  soon 
becomes  a  rich  and  powerful  lord.     As  a  precaution  against  further 
molestation  by  the  King  of  Arabia,  however,  he  changes  his  name. 
The  author  stupidly  neglects  to  tell  us  what  name  he  now  assumes, 
but  it  is  clearly  evident  that  Galiarbus  and  the  Leostines  of  the 
later  part  of  the  play  are  one  and  the  same.     So  we  may  safely 
conclude  that  the  assumed  name  was  Leostines.     Otherwise  we 
have   the   extremely   awkward  procedure  of  dropping   Galiarbus 
before  the  play  is  one-fourth  finished,  and  never  mentioning  him 
thereafter. 

But   to   return   to   the   fortunes   of   Clarisia.     Upon   entering 
Phrygia,  she  is  met  by  Lamphedon,  son  of  the  Prince  of  that  coun- 


92  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

try,  who  is  hunting  in  the  forest,  and  the  inevitable  love-affair 
ensues,  terminated  promptly  by  marriage.  Conditions,  however, 
in  sheer  perversity  of  spirit,  breeds  domestic  discord  by  stirring  up 
jealousy  between  Clarisia  and  the  Princess,  mother  of  Lamphedon. 
In  loyalty  to  his  wife,  but  tilled  with  sorrow  over  leaving  his  native 
land,  Lamphedon  sets  out  by  sea  with  Clarisia,  to  take  up  residence 
at  the  court  of  the  King  of  Thrace,  who  is  a  kinsman  of  Clarisia. 
Conditions  once  more  proves  himself  an  efficient  maker  of  mis- 
chief, however.  In  negotiating  for  passage  to  Thrace,  he  has  made 
the  acquaintance  of  a  band  of  pirates,  and  at  their  invitation  has 
become  their  captain.  So  when  the  ship  bearing  Lamphedon  and 
Clarisia  is  upon  the  high  seas,  he  attacks  it  with  his  pirate  crew. 
Lamphedon  is  thrown  overboard.  Clarisia  is  taken  into  captivity 
and  turned  over  by  common  agreement  to  Conditions,  who  is  to  sell 
her  for  a  vast  sum  to  Cardolus,  a  tyrant,  and  owner  of  the  Isle  of 
Marofus.  Instead,  however,  he  repents  of  his  rascality,  and  secures 
shelter  for  her  at  the  home  of  Leostines,  a  wealthy  knight  (Galiarbus, 
her  father,  evidently,  who  of  course  does  not  recognize  her),  where 
she  continues  to  dwell  under  the  name  of  Metrea.  Lamphedon,  in 
the  meantime,  having  saved  himself  from  drowning,  learns  of  the 
scheme  to  sell  Clarisia  to  Cardolus,  and,  proceeding  to  the  tyrant's 
castle,  overthrows  him  and  frees  a  large  number  of  ladies  who  are 
being  held  in  captivity,  only  to  find  that  Clarisia  is  not  among  them. 
The  drama  turns  at  this  point  to  consider  the  fortunes  of  Sed- 
mond,  who  under  the  name  of  Nomides,  has  been  living  in  another 
part  of  Phrygia.  Sabia,  daughter  of  a  wealthy  Spanish  physician, 
has  fallen  violently  in  love  with  Nomides,  in  whom,  however,  her 
declarations  awake  no  response.  Angered  at  his  coldness,  she  prays 
that  he  may  know  the  pangs  of  unrequited  love;  and  her  prayers  are 
soon  answered,  for  journeying  to  the  city  where  Leostines  lives,  he 
meets  his  sister,  now  known  as  Metrea,  and  unmindful  of  her  true 
identity,  falls  violently  in  love  with  her.  But  Metrea  (Clarisia), 
passionately  faithful  to  the  memory  of  Lr.mphedon,  whom  she 
believes  to  have  been  drowned,  will  hsten  to  no  profession  of  love. 
Her  benefactor,  Leostines,  points  out  to  her  the  advantages  which 
matrimony  offers  a  defenceless  maiden,  and  proposes  to  find  a  hus- 
band suited  to  the  station  which  she  will  enjoy  as  the  inheritor  of  all 
his  possessions,  but  she  begs  to  be  allowed  to  Uve  as  a  maid.  She 
of  course  says  nothing  about  her  supposedly  dead  husband,  Lamphe- 
don. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  93 

At  this  point  Lamphedon  again  appears  upon  the  scene,  having 
been  conducted  to  Clarisia  by  Conditions,  who  for  once  allows  him- 
self to  become  the  instrument  of  beneficent  fortune.  But  he  soon 
returns  to  his  favorite  role  of  mischief-maker.  The  affectionate 
meeting  of  Lamphedon  and  Clarisia,  witnessed  by  Conditions  and  a 
female  fool  named  Lomia,  is  reported  to  Leostines,  who  takes  it  as 
evidence  of  wantonness  on  the  part  of  his  ward,  and  the  unfortunate 
pair  are  condemned  to  drink  poison.  For  some  reason  they  do  not 
make  known  the  true  relations  existing  between  them.  Conditions, 
who  knows  the  truth,  does  what  he  can  to  confirm  the  suspicions  of 
Leostines.  The  poison  is  provided,  and  Lamphedon  drinks  off  the 
portion  assigned  him.  Clarisia  is  also  on  the  point  of  swallowing  the 
fatal  draught,  when  she  is  commanded  by  Leostines  to  stay  her  hand, 
since  he  has  decided  to  spare  her  life.  Apparently  divining  the 
terms  upon  which  she  is  to  be  saved,  she  replies  that  he  has  come  too 
late  to  have  her  as  his  wife.  Here  the  play  breaks  off  suddenly, 
leaving  matters  in  this  uncertain  state,  the  reason  assigned  in  the 
Epilogue  being  lack  of  time  to  proceed  further. 

In  considering  the  elements  that  enter  into  this  plot,  we  note, 
first,  a  setting  sufficiently  vague  and  remote  to  fulfill  all  the  demands 
of  high  romance;  second,  a  personnel  drawn  mainly  from  the 
highest  circles, — kings,  princes,  dukes,  and  other  members  of  the 
courtly  group;  and,  third,  the  recurrence  of  a  type  of  motive  and 
situation  thoroughly  characteristic  of  a  group  of  romances  widely 
current  in  both  the  east  and  the  west,  of  which  the  story  of  Placidas, 
or  the  legend  of  St.  Eustace,  is  probably  the  best  known  repre- 
sentative;*— a  family  dispersed  into  widely  separated  localities 
and  suffering  various  vicissitudes  of  fortune  in  the  search  for  each 
other,  a  wife  parted  from  her  husband  by  a  catastrophe  experienced 
during  a  voyage  at  sea,  attacks  by  pirates  and  robbers,  the  varied 
romantic  complications  that  arise  when  the  scattered  members 
of  the  family  meet  after  a  long  period  of  time  without  recognizing 
each  other,  and  finally  the  happy  solution  of  all  difficulties  and  the 

*The  generic  name  given  to  the  group  is  that  of  the  "Man  tried  by  Fate."  A 
study  of  the  interrelations  of  its  numerous  members,  so  thorough  and  so  admirable 
in  method  that  it  might  serve  as  a  model  for  all  future  work  of  the  sort,  is  that  by 
Gordon  Hall  Gerould,  "Forerunners,  Congeners,  and  Derivatives  of  the  Eustace 
Legend,"  Pub.  Mod.  Lang.  Ass.,  1904  (N.  S.  12),  pp.  335-446.  Other  studies  in  the 
same  field  are,  Philip  Ogden,  A  Comparative  Study  of  the  Poem  Guillaum'  d'  Angleterre" 
(1909),  and  Leo  Jordm,  DIj  Eustacelegenie,  etc..  Herrig's  Archlv  f.  d.  n.  Sprich^t, 
Bd.  121,  ss.  341-363. 


94  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

ample  reward  for  all  suffering.  Common  Conditions  and  Sir  Clyo- 
mon  and  Sir  Clamydes  are  frequently  spoken  of  together  as  sur- 
viving representations  of  the  dramatized  heroic  romances.  But 
this  is  not  strictly  true.  The  bonds  of  affinity  which  unite  Common 
Conditions  with  the  typical  romance  of  chivalry  are  its  atmosphere 
of  blustering  sensationalism,  and  the  presence  among  its  dramatis 
personae  of  a  "wandering  Knight" — who,  after  all,  hardly  qualifies 
for  the  distinction — and  the  tyrant  Cardolus,  who  imiprisons  fair 
ladies  in  his  castle  on  the  Isle  of  Marofus.  The  other  incidents 
out  of  which  its  plot  is  constructed  belong  to  a  distinctly  different 
genre.  The  geography  of  the  story,  moreover,  lies  outside  the 
realm  usually  traversed  by  the  knight  of  mediaeval  legend  in  his 
search  for  adventure,  and  the  local  color,  what  there  is  of  it,  is 
sufficient  to  give  the  story  a  distinct  Oriental  tinge. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  matter  that  enters  into  its  com- 
position, then,  the  play  appears  to  be  a  sort  of  mongrel,  possessing 
no  strictly  defined  affihation.  We  are  told  that  the  story  was 
"drawn  out  of  the  most  famous  historic  of  Galiarbus."  Are 
we  to  accept  this  statement  in  good  faith?  To  what  extent  has 
the  author  modified  the  material  appropriated  from  this  source? 
We  can  only  answer  this  question  of  course  after  '*  the  most  famous 
historic  of  Galiarbus"  has  been  brought  to  light,  and  it  has  so  far 
eluded  the  vigilance  of  the  industrious  source-hunter.  There 
is  convincing  evidence  in  abundance,  however,  that  the  author 
did  not  transfer  to  the  stage  without  material  alteration  a  narra- 
tive already  in  existence.  The  union  of  the  heroic  element  with 
situations  foreign  to  the  romance  of  chivalry  has  already  been 
noted.  Then  the  uncertainty  of  the  dramatist,  as  if  he  longed 
to  take  the  initiative,  yet  did  not  dare  to  trust  himself  to  a  timid 
invention,  is  variously  evident.  First,  there  is  the  failure  to  say 
specifically,  what  he  evidently  meant  his  auditors  to  understand, 
that  Leostines  is  Galiarbus  under  an  assumed  name.  Second,  he 
seems  to  be  uncertain  whether  to  represent  the  relations  between 
Leostines  and  Metrea  as  those  of  disinterested  philanthropy,  or 
romantic  love.  In  the  list  of  players'  names  Leostines  is  described 
as  a  "  Knight  that  loves  the  Lady  Metrea, "  yet  he  nowhere  expresses 
a  feeling  stronger  than  mere  fatherly  affection.  He  specifically 
declares  that  he  wishes  to  regard  her  as  his  "only  daughter  deare," 
(1.  1590)  and  begs  her  to  accept  him  as  her  sire  (1.  1598),  unselfishly 
offering  to  provide  her  with  a  husband,  "some  knight  of  famous 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  95 

stocke,"  to  share  the  wealth  with  which  he  means  to  endow  her.^ 
Wholly  inconsistent  with  this  attitude  is  the  intimation  of  romantic 
passion  in  the  closing  lines  of  the  play.  When  Metrea  is  about 
to  drink  the  poison,  Leostines  commands : 

"O  stay  thy  hand,  my  Metrea  deare,  and  I  will  save  thy  life." 

And  Metrea's  reply  is, 

"  In  faith  sir  knight  you  come  too  late  to  gaine  her  as  your  wife. " 

As  far  as  the  reader  is  aware,  the  descriptive  tag  applied  to  Leostines 
in  the  list  of  dramatis  personae  is  the  only  implication  that  he  ever 
entertained  such  designs.  The  ambiguity  seems  clearly  to  indicate 
that  the  author  is  improvising  upon  an  original  only  imperfectly 
remembered,  or  at  least  not  strictly  adhered  to. 

Further  evidence  pointing  to  the  same  conclusion  is  found  in 
the  indefinite  a.nd  unsatisfactory  manner  in  which  the  play  is 
brought  to  a  close.  Nothing  whatever  is  settled.  The  story  of 
the  Spanish  physician  and  the  amorous  daughter  for  whom  he 
proposes  to  purchase  a  husband  is  dropped  in  mid-action,  and 
never  resumed  again.  The  final  disposition  of  the  main  plot  is 
hardly  more  satisfactory.  A  catastrophe  seems  to  be  imminent 
when  the  Epilogue  steps  forward  with  his  lame  excuse  for  breaking 
off  the  action,  but  somehow — perhaps  by  the  prevailingly  comic 
mood  of  the  play — the  reader  is  left  with  the  impression  that  a 
way  will  yet  be  found  to  avert  the  impending  tragedy. 

These  anomalies  and  uncertainties  show  pretty  conclusively 
that  the  author  did  not  find  the  various  elements  of  his  plot  already 
in  combination  in  narrative  form.  He  has  evidently  treated 
with  considerable  freedom  the  original  which  he  designates  as  "the 
famous  historic  of  Galiarbus. "  The  necessity  of  modifying  his 
borrowed  matter  doubtless  arose  out  of  the  effort  to  adapt  it  to 
the  composite  and  dramatically  important  role  played  by  the  titular 
character.  Obviously,  he  is  the  dramatist's  own  creation,  and  has 
no  connection  with  the  original  romantic  source,  except  in  so  far 
as  he  typifies  the  vagaries  of  fortune  in  human  affairs.  He  domi- 
nates the  action  from  first  to  last.  The  direction  of  the  plot  is 
surrendered  completely  to  him,  and  it  might  almost  be  said  that 
for  him  the  play  was  written.  Hence  the  necessity  of  ordering 
events  with  an  eye  single  to  his  functional  importance. 

'  Cf.  11.  1584  ff. 


96  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

We  need  hardly  expect,  therefore,  to  find  a  source  corresponding 
in  every  detail  with  the  plot  of  the  drama.  But  can  we  locate  the 
narrative  that  probably  served  as  the  support  of  the  author  in 
the  not  altogether  satisfactory  exercise  of  his  maiden  invention? 
There  is  much  discernment  back  of  the  suggestion  offered  by  the 
reviewer  of  Professor  Brandl's  edition  of  the  play  in  the  Jahrbuch 
der  deuischen  Shakespeare  Gesellschaft,^  who  says,  "Der  Stoff  scheint 
in  letzter  Linie  auf  griechische  Romane  zuriickzugehen,  eine 
italienische  Novelle  dlirfte  dabei  die  Vermittlerolle  gespielt  haben. " 
There  is,  in  fact,  no  mistaking  the  flavor  of  Greek  romance  in  the 
type  of  motive  and  incident  out  of  which  the  plot  of  Common  Con- 
ditions is  fashioned.  As  for  the  Italian  novella  that  may  have 
served  as  the  immediate  means  of  its  communication  to  the  drama, 
I  am  unable  to  offer  one  for  wliich  the  claim  can  be  indisputably 
made.  In  the  eighth  novel  of  the  fifth  day  of  Giraldi  Cinthio's 
Ecatom.miti,  however,  we  have,  if  not  the  original  of  the  English 
dramatist's  adaptations,  an  analogue  which  must  undoubtedly 
go  back  to  the  same  parent  stem.  The  headnote  of  Giraldi's 
story  reads:  "Messer  Cesare  Gravina,  fearing  the  anger  of  his  King, 
flees  from  Naples  with  his  two  twin  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter. 
They  are  caught  in  a  tempest,  the  husband  and  the  wife  are  thrown 
into  the  sea,  the  two  children  remaining  on  the  ship,  the  parents 
and  the  children  both  beheving  the  others  to  be  dead.  In  the 
end  all  of  them  meet  again  in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  are  again 
received  into  the  favor  of  their  King,  and  return  contented  to 
Naples."^  This  story  thus  outlined  may  be  given  in  summary 
as  follows: 

Untruthful  reports  spread  by  his  enemies  had  caused  Gravina, 
an  upright  and  loyal  citizen  of  Naples,  to  fall  under  the  suspicion 
of  the  King,  Alphonso;  and  fearing  that  the  King  meant 
to  have  him  put  to  death,  Gravina  determined  to  make  his  way 
secretly  out  of  the  country.  So  ha\dng  provided  a  ship,  he  col- 
lected a  few  of  his  possessions,  and  taking  his  family,  which  con- 

« Quoted  by  Brooke,  ed.  Com.  Cond.  (Eliz.  Club  Reprints)   p.  59. 

'  Messer  Cesare  Gravina  timendo  I'ira  del  suo  re,  con  un  figliual  maschio  ed  una 
femmina,  nati  ad  un  parto,  si  fugge  da  Napoli.  Sono  assoliti  dolla  tempesta;  cade  11 
marito  e  la  moglie  nel  mare;  i  figliuioli  rimangono  nella  nave;  e  ciascuno  di  essitien 
che  I'altro  sia  morto.  Si  ritronono  tutti  in  buona  fortuna;  e  riavanta  la  grazia  del  re 
loro,  se  ne  ritornano  contenti  a  Napoli."  Cf.  Gio  Battista  Giraldi,  Gli  Ecatommiti, 
Cugini  Pomba  E  Comp.  Torina,  1853,  pp.  253-264. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  97 

sisted  of  his  wife  (Elisabetta)  and  the  twins,  Gaio  and  Hiulia,  he 
set  sail  at  night,  directing  the  vessel  toward  Ragugia. 

When  they  were  upon  the  high  seas,  a  storm  came  up  unex- 
pectedly, and  the  ship  was  threatened  with  destruction  by  the 
wind  and  the  waves.  The  terrified  sailors  threw  overboard  the 
better  part  of  the  cargo,  and  at  last  lowered  the  life-boats,  deter- 
mined to  leave  the  vessel  to  its  fate.  But  in  the  excitement  Elisa- 
betta fell  into  the  water.  Gravina  plunged  in  in  an  effort  to  save 
her,  leaving  the  boy  and  the  girl  still  on  the  ship.  The  sea  was  so 
disturbed  that  Gravina  lost  sight  of  his  wife,  and  believing  her 
to  have  been  drowned,  he  grasped  a  table  which  he  found  floating 
on  the  water,  and  was  at  last  carried  by  the  force  of  the  waves  to 
Durasso,  where,  more  dead  than  alive,  he  moaned  the  loss  of  his 
family,  all  of  whom  he  beHeved  to  be  drowned.  But  all  had  in 
fact  been  saved.  Elisabetta  had  managed  to  seize  some  part  of 
the  floating  cargo,  and  had  been  borne  by  the  waves  to  Velona, 
where,  ashamed  of  her  fortune  and  wishing  to  conceal  her  identity, 
she  gave  it  out  that  her  name  was  Macaria.  The  ship  on  which 
the  boy  and  girl  had  been  left  did  not  sink  after  all,  but,  drifting 
uncontrolled,  it  finally  stuck  in  the  sand  off  Ragugia.  Two  gentle- 
men, seeing  it,  came  out  to  investigate,  and  finding  the  children 
almost  dead  of  exposure  and  hunger,  they  carried  them  ashore 
and  cared  for  them.  The  children,  being  too  young  to  tell  any- 
thing of  their  family  and  not  knowing  even  their  own  names,  were 
rechristened  and  given  into  kindly  hands.  The  boy,  now  called 
Eugenio,  was  given  to  a  gentleman  of  Velona,  and  carried  by  him 
to  that  city.  The  girl,  under  the  name  of  Eufrosina,  remained 
with  a  family  of  Ragugia. 

Now  as  to  the  fortunes  of  each  member  of  this  scattered  family 
during  the  ensuing  years.  Gravina,  though  grieving  for  the  loss 
of  his  wife  and  children,  gives  thanks  for  his  own  miraculous  deliv- 
erance. Proceeding  to  Patrosso,  he  hears  that  King  Alphonso 
has  set  a  price  on  his  head  and  in  order  to  conceal  his  identity, 
assumes  the  name  of  Nastagio.  He  associates  himself  with  a 
gentleman  of  that  place,  and,  making  a  law  of  necessity,  lives 
his  life  in  patience.  Finally,  the  gentleman  with  whom  he  is 
associated  dies,  and  Nastagio  becomes  "Sir"  Nastagio,  a  person 
of   dignity   and   consequence   in    the   community. 

As  for  his  wife,  under  the  name  of  Macaria,  she  remains  in 
Velona,  and  takes  service  in  the  household  of  the  gentleman  into 


98  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

whose  hands  Gaio  (Eugenio)  had  fallen.  Impressed  with  her 
quiet  demeanor  and  virtuous  behavior,  this  gentleman  offers  to  make 
her  his  wife,  and  raise  her  above  the  rank  of  a  servant.  She  thanks 
him,  but  refuses,  preferring  to  remain  true  to  the  memory  of  her 
supposedly  dead  husband.  The  gentleman  honors  her  all  the  more 
for  her  refusal.  He  asks  her,  however,  to  take  charge  of  the 
bringing-up  of  Eugenio,  which  she  agrees  to  do,  without  having 
the  slightest  suspicion,  of  course,  that  he  is  her  own  son. 

Eufrosina  is  stolen  by  corsairs  from  her  friends  in  Ragugia, 
and  on  being  brought  to  Patrossa,  is  purchased  by  Nastagio  for 
forty  florins.  She  does  not  wish  to  make  known  the  name  which 
she  has  formerly  borne,  and  is  now  called  Eutiche.  She  has  grown  to  be 
a  very  beautiful  young  woman,  and  her  loveliness  is  enough  to  warm 
the  heart  of  any  man.  Nastagio  purchases  her  as  a  servant,  but 
he  soon  comes  to  treat  her  as  his  own  daughter,  (which  she  really 
is,  though  of  course  neither  suspects  it).  There  is  just  a  suggestion 
that  Nastagio  regards  her  wdth  a  feeling  slightly  warmer  than 
paternal  affection,  but  his  true  nobility  of  character  is  always 
uppermost  in  their  relations. 

While  these  events  are  happening  in  the  life  of  his  lost  twin 
sister,  Eugenio  has  himself  been  acquiring  experience  in  worldly 
matters.  Having  grown  to  young  manhood,  he  begins  to  take 
an  interest  in  the  girls  about  him.  A  certain  Pino,  wealthy  citizen 
of  Patrosso  comes  to  Velona,  bringing  with  him  his  beautiful 
daughter.  Eugenio  sees  and  falls  in  love  with  her,  though  being 
but  a  foundling,  he  says  nothing  of  his  passion. 

When  she  has  returned  with  her  father  to  Patrossa,  however, 
he  determines  to  follow  her;  so,  putting  on  female  attire,  the  better 
to  elude  his  Velonese  master,  as  well  as  to  aid  him  in  carrying  out 
certain  other  designs  which  he  has  conceived,  he  proceeds  to  Patros- 
sa, and  is  employed  in  the  family  of  Pino  as  companion  and  maid 
of  the  latter's  daughter.  In  this  way  he  comes  to  live  on  terms  of 
intimacy  wath  the  object  of  his  affections. 

It  happens,  however,  that  the  Pino  residence  adjoins  the  residence 
of  Nastagio,  and  Eugenio  sees  in  the  course  of  his  stay  there  the 
beautiful  Eutiche,  his  sister.  All  his  love  for  the  daughter  of 
Pino  is  now  transferred  to  Eutiche.  Quitting  the  service  of  Pino, 
he  is  employed  in  a  similar  capacity  by  Nastagio.  All  his  intrigues 
come  to  nothing  in  this  quarter,  however.  Eutiche  is  not  only 
pure  and  virtuous,  but  she  is  very  much  in  love  with  the  son  of  the 
mayor. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  99 

This  love-affair  between  Eutiche  and  the  mayor's  son  produces 
further  complications,  and  leads  fmally  to  a  reunion  of  the  Gravina 
family.  In  order  to  overcome  the  objections  of  both  Nastagio 
and  the  mayor,  these  lovers  decide  to  elope;  and  as  an  aid  in  carrying 
out  their  plan,  Eutiche  puts  on  male  attire.  In  this  garb  she  is 
seen  by  the  Velonese  master  of  Eugenio,  who  is  abroad  hunting 
for  that  young  man,  and,  being  mistaken  for  Eugenio,  is  locked 
up  in  prison.  The  usual  confusion  of  identity  between  the  brother 
and  the  sister  follows,*^  producing  further  mystification  and  com- 
pHcations,  and  in  the  curiosity  thus  aroused  the  true  relations 
between  these  people  are  brought  to  Hght,  and  the  family  is  united, 
the  two  pairs  of  lovers  being  in  the  end  made  happy  in  marriage. 

The  difference  in  atmosphere,  in  geography,  and  in  the  names 
given  the  characters  helps  decidedly  to  obscure  the  similarity  in 
incident  and  situation  between  this  story  and  the  story  constituting 
the  plot  of  Common  Conditions.  At  some  points,  it  is  true,  they 
differ  rather  sharply,  but  the  number  of  essentially  identical 
characteristics  which  they  have  in  common  makes  it  difficult  to 
believe  that  the  resemblance  is  accidental.  In  comparing  the  one 
with  the  other,  we  may  omit  all  consideration  of  the  cr>ptic  and 
indefinite  ending  of  the  play.  This  is  obviously  of  the  dramatist's 
own  contriving— a  bungling  effort  at  invention  which  apparently 
he  was  unable  to  control,  and  which  proves  nothing  whatever  as 
to  source  relations.  Fundamental,  and  perhaps  organic,  differences 
are  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  play  has  no  character  corresponding 
to  Elisabetta,  wife  of  Gravina,  and  that  it  makes  no  use  of  the  dis- 
guises employed  in  the  story.  Detailed  comparison,  however, 
shows  the  following  important  points  of  argument: 

1.  Both  are  evidently  intended  to  be  concrete  illustrations  of 
the  same  thesis:  the  strange  tricks  which  destiny  plays  in  the  lives 
of  human  beings. 

«  The  assuming  of  the  disguises  and  the  confusion  of  identity  between  the  brother 
and  the  sister  reproduce  the  conventional  situation  in  the  analogues  of  Twelfth  Night, 
but  these  need  no  further  consideration  here,  as  they  have  nothing  else  in  common 
with  the  Gravina  narrative.  A  much  closer  analogue  of  Cintio's  story  is  the  account 
of  similar  adventures  happening  to  the  family  of  Capece  (Decameron  2.  6.)  which 
Greene  took  over  for  his  tale  in  "Perimedes,  the  Black-Smith"  (Works,  ed.  Grosart, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  23  ff.),  but  that  too  may  be  omitted  in  the  present  connection,  since  all 
points  of  difference  between  Boccaccio  and  Cintio  carry  us  still  further  from  the  plot 
of  Common  Conditions. 


100  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

2.  They  are  identical  in  fundamental  motives  and  general 
frame  work.  False  accusations  of  treacherous  enemies  cause  a 
prominent  citizen's  loyalty  to  his  king  to  be  questioned.  Fearing  for 
his  safety  he  and  his  family  flee  the  country.  They  are  separated, 
assume  aliases,  meet  without  recognizing  each  other,  and  after 
many  adventures,  are  at  last  united  (that  is,  they  would  have 
been  if  the  play  had  been  allowed  to  follow  the  course  clearly 
determined  for  it  by  the  logic  of  romantic  comedy). 

3.  In  each  the  exiled  citizen  prospers  in  his  new  home,  and 
regains  his  wealth  and  social  station. 

4.  In  each,  the  citizen's  supposedly  lost  daughter  is  delivered 
into  his  hands  after  having  been  captured  by  pirates.  Without 
recognizing  her,  he  takes  her  into  his  home,  but  soon  comes  to 
regard  her  as  his  daughter. 

5.  The  lost  son  and  brother  appears  at  this  jucture,  and,  unmind- 
ful of  the  identity  of  either  the  father  or  the  sister,  makes  violent 
love  to  the  sister;  in  each  case,  he  is  rebuffed. 

6.  In  each  a  wife  separated  from  her  husband  by  shipwreck 
or  attack  by  pirates,  finds  a  haven  with  a  man  of  noble  chara:  er, 
who  proposes  to  marry  her  (or  see  her  married).  She  refuses, 
perferring  to  remain  true  to  the  memory  of  her  lost  husband,  and 
her  benefactor  regards  her  all  the  more  highly  for  the  refusal. 

7.  In  each  a  subordinate  ;ove  story  exists.  The  brother,  in 
order  to  press  his  suit  with  the  unrecognized  sister,  dehberately 
rejects  a  lady  who  has  given  proof  of  her  love  for  him. 

8.  In  the  story,  the  brother,  in  order  to  gain  access  to  the  sister, 
puts  on  female  attire  This  is  not  true  of  the  play,  but  it  looks 
as  if  the  dramatist  might  have  had  such  a  precedent  before  him. 
On  meeting  the  lady  Metrea's  female  fool,  Lomia,  through  whom 
he  hopes  to  gain  his  ends,  Nomides  inquires, — 

"How  sayst  thou,  my  Lady  Lomia,  wilt  thou  change  cotes 
with  me?" 

She  replies, — 

"No  thinke  not  you  have  a  foole  in  hand  I  waraunt  yee." 

Whereupon  Nomides  rejoins  — 

"Why  Lomia,  my  cloke  will  become  thee  excellent  and  brave,"' 
etc. 

'Cf.  ".  1405  ff. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAV's'      "''■'"'       iOl 

Whether  or  not  we  regard  these  indisputably  close  points  of 
correspondence  as  sufficient  to  justify  the  assertion  that  the  English 
dramatist  knew  and  used  the  Italian  novella,  it  can  hardly  be 
denied  that  the  two  stories  belong  generically  to  the  same  saga- 
group.  It  may  be  that  he  used  an  original — presumably  Greek, 
certainly  Eastern — of  which  the  novella  is  an  offshoot.  The 
names  and  the  geography  lend  support  to  such  a  theory;  but  if 
such  an  original  ever  existed  under  the  title  of  the  "Historic  of 
Galiarbus,"  it  is  not  now  traceable.  There  is  nothing  improbable, 
however,  in  the  theory  that  the  play  was  fashioned  directly  from 
the  novella.  Common  Conditions  belongs  to  a  period,  it  will  be 
remembered,  before  the  dramatized  novella  came  into  fashion. 
The  dramatic  staple  in  the  decade  1570-80  was  the  romance  of 
chivalry,  and  the  romanticized  classical  legend.  Under  the  influence 
of  current  fashions,  therefore,  the  dramatist  may  have  infused  his 
matter  with  the  slightly  inharmonious  heroic  strains  noted  above,!" 
and,  being  aware  of  its  hybrid  character,  transferred  it  to  the 
vaguely  romantic  environment  of  Arabia  and  Phrygia.  The 
author  of  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  took  a  similar  liberty  with  both 
the  names  and  the  geography  of  his  borrowed  material.  "The 
most  famous  historie  of  Galiarbus"  mentioned  in  the  title  may 
have  been  only  an  effort  to  recommend  the  play  to  the  reading 
pubHc  by  attributing  to  it  a  romantic  and  high-sounding  origin. 
If  the  "history  of  GaUarbus"  had  been  current  in  England  at  the 
time,  perhaps  the  play,  which  in  that  case  could  have  pretended 
to  no  novelty  of  plot-incident,  would  never  have  been  printed  at 
all.i!  The  discovery  of  such  a  story,  however,  may  prove  these 
conjectures  to  have  been  ill-founded. 

The  German  reviewer  quoted  above  wisely  remarks  that  the 
flavor  of  Greek  romance  is  strong  in  the  plot  material  of  Common 
Conditions.  The  indebtedness  of  the  Italian  novelists  to  late 
Greek  prose  fiction  has  long  been  recognized  by  scholars.  Landau, 
in  Die  Quellen  des  Dekameron,  says:  "Eine  andere  Art  griechischer, 
ebenfalls  nicht  antik  classischer  Werke,  scheint  auch  einigen 
Einfluss  auf  manche  Novellen  des  Dekameron  gehabt  zu  haben. 
Es  sind  dies  die  griechischen  Leibesromane,  die  zwar  Boccaccio 
wohl  nicht  selbst  gelesen  hat,  von  denen  er  aber  einige  Kenntis 
gehabt  zu  haben  scheint.     Diese  Romane,  die  grosstentheils  zur 

'"  Cf.  p.  94. 

"  It  might  be  added  that  the  Gravina  story  had  not  been  translated  into  English. 


102  ROMAN  lie  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Zeit  der  byzantininschen  Kaiser  geschrieben  wurdcn,  tragen  das 
Geprage  ihrer  Zeit,  die  Spuren  einer  abgelebten  Civilisation  und 
eines  krankhaften  Gesellschaftszustandes.  Raiiber,  Entfuhrungen, 
Scheintodte,  die  grossten  Unwahrscheinlichkeiten  und  die  uner- 
wartetsten  Gllicksveranderungen  bilden  den  Hauptinhalt  dieser 
Romane,  mit  denen  Boccaccio's  Novellen  von  den  drei  Schwestern 
und  ihren  Liebhabern  (I.  IV.  N.  3),  von  Pietro  Borramozza  (T.  V. 
N.  3),  und  von  der  Familie  Capice^^  (I.  II.  N.  6)  verwandt  sind."^^ 
The  characteristics  which  seem  to  indicate  an  affinity  in  materials 
and  methods  between  Common  Conditions  and  the  Greek  romances 
may  be  hsted  as  follows : 

1.  The  general  frame-work,  involving  the  flight  of  lovers  or 
kindred  from  some  threatened  peril,  the  ocean  voyage,  the  ensuing 
adventures,  the  separation,  and  final  reunion; — the  conventional 
outline  of  the  Greek  romances;  cf.  the  flight  of  Dercylhs  and  Man- 
tmia  from  Tyre,  in  The  Incredible  Things  in  Thule;  the  fhght  of 
Rhodanes  and  Sinonis  from  Babylon,  in  the  Babylonica;  the  secret 
departure  of  Charicles  from  Delphi,  carrying  with  him  the  lovers, 
Theagenes  and  Chariclea,  in  yEthiopica;  the  flight  of  the  lovers 
in  the  effort  to  escape  parental  anger,  in  the  Clitophon  and  Leucippe, 
and  the  similar  wanderings  and  adventures  of  the  lovers  as  decreed 
by  the  oracle  of  Apollo,  in  the  romance  of  Habrocomas  and  Anthia.^* 

2.  The  use  of  attacks  by  pirates  and  robbers  as  the  favorite 
means  of  producing  the  compHcations  of  the  action.  It  is  universal 
in  Greek  romance.  Observe  its  monotonous  occurrence  in  Theagenes 
and  Chariclea:  (1)  When  the  lovers  are  fleeting  from  Delphi, 
under  the  protection  of  Charicles,  they  are  seized  by  Trachinus, 
a  pirate  (V,  xx-xxvi).  (2)  After  their  escape,  while  Chariclea  is 
attending  the  wound  which  Theagenes  received  in  the  fight  with 
Pelorus,  they  are  taken  by  a  band  of  robbers  (I,  i-iii) .  (3)  Presently 
Thyamis,  wdth  his  ''Herdsmen,"  takes  them  from  their  first  cap- 
tors (I,  xix;  VH,  ii).  (4)  Cneman  is  captured  by  pirates  (VI,  ii), 
and  later  by  the  "Herdsmen,"  commanded  by  Thyamis  (VI,  ii). 

(5)  Thyamis  is  himself  captured  by  a  robber  band  (I,  xx\di-xxx), 

(6)  Thisbe  is  captured  by  Thermutis,  outlaw-lieutenant  of  Thyamis 
(V,  xiv).     (7)  A  party  of  scouts  capture  Theagenes  and  Chariclea, 

'^The  last  named  story,  to  which  Landau  assigns  a  Greek  origin,  is  the  nearest 
traceable  analogue  to  Cintio's  story  of  the  Gravina  family. 
"  Loc.  cH.  P.  296. 
"  Cf.  Villemain,  Collection  de  romans  grecs;  Chassung,  Lcs  Romans  gress. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  103 

and  deliver  them  into  the  hands  of  Hydaspes  (VIII,  xvi-xvii). 
The  other  romances  employ  the  device  almost  as  freely.  The 
subordinate  action  in  Clitophon  and  Lencippe  finds  its  motive  in 
the  abduction  of  CalUgone  by  pirates  (Book  II,  xiii-xix).  Cal- 
Hsthenes,  the  lover,  arranges  the  abduction  through  Zeno,  a  sturdy 
rogue  who  in  many  respects  resembles  Common  Conditions,  and, 
like  Conditions,  pretends  that  he  was  once  a  pirate  himeslf.  In 
Hahrocomas  and  Anthia,  Anthia  is  separated  from  her  husband 
and  carried  off  by  bandits,  from  whom  she  is  rescued  by  a  nobleman 
named  Perilaus,  who  wishes  to  marry  her.  (II,  ii).  She  consents 
in  order  to  avoid  offending  him,  but,  remembering  her  husband, 
she  escapes  this  second  marriage  by  drinking  a  soporific.  She  is 
pronounced  dead,  and  placed  in  the  tomb  (III,  6).  Pirates  plunder 
the  tomb  for  the  treasure  which  it  contains,  and  rescue  her  (III, 
8).  The  list  of  instances  in  which  shipwrecks  and  attacks  by 
pirates  are  employed  as  a  complicating  force  could  be  greatly 
extended.  Its  constant  use  by  the  writers  of  the  Greek  romances 
is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  they  seemed  not  to  understand  how 
the  movement  of  their  plots  could  be  effected  through  character 
and  the  influences  of  natural  causation,  but  surrendered  them  to 
some  mechanical  agency. 

3.  In  Common  Conditions,  Nomides  speaks  scornfully  of  love, 
and  defies  its  power  over  him.  Being  untouched  by  any  arrow 
from  the  Httle  god's  bow,  he  can  ruthlessly  turn  from  the  pleadings 
of  the  amorous  Sabia.^^  But  when  he  sees  Metrea,  he  laments 
that  he  has  ever  spoken  ''defame"  of  love,  and  confesses  that 
instead  of  being  love's  master,  he  has  now  become  his  slave.^^ 
This  is  a  typical  instance  of  "Das  Eros  INIotif"  which  Brunhiiber 
attributes  to  the  influence  of  Greek  fiction. ^^  Nomides's  experience 
is  paralleled  by  that  of  Chtophon  before  he  met  Leucippe,  and  by 
Theagenes  when  he  met  his  destiny  in  Chariclea  (II,  xxxiii). 

4.  The  closing  scene  in  Common  Conditions,  in  which,  without 
knowing  it,  a  father  condemns  to  death  his  own  daughter  and  the 
man  whom  she  loves,  occurs  in  its  essential  details  in  the  tenth 
book  of  the  Mhiopica,  when  Hydaspes  condemns  Theagenes  and 
Chariclea  to  the  sacrifice.  In  each  instance  the  seemingly  natural 
disclosure  of  the  true  relations  between  the  lovers  is  not  made. 

IS  Cf.  U.  786-885. 

"  Cf.  1351-88. 

^''  Sir  Philip  Sidney's  "Arcadia''  und  ihre  Nachlaufer,  pp.  22-3. 


104         ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

In  Heliodorus  the  impending  tragedy  is  averted  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  a  deus  ex  macJiina;  in  Common  Conditions  the  reader  is 
left  in  uncertainty  as  to  the  final  outcome. 

It  \\dll  be  noted  that  most  of  these  characteristics  which  show 
the  kinship  in  matter  and  spirit  between  Cowman  Conditions  and 
the  Greek  romances  are  to  be  found  also  in  the  Cintio  story  of 
Gravina.  But  whether  the  Itahan  novella  was  the  intermediate 
form  in  which  they  reached  the  English  dramatist,  or  whether, 
through  some  romance  not  now  known,  he  was  in  more  direct 
contact  wdth  Byzantine  fiction,  can  not  be  determined  wdth  cer- 
tainty. It  is  fairly  clear,  however,  that  the  play  was  not  written 
in  strict  fidelity  to  any  narrative  original.  The  writer's  wilHngness 
to  experiment  with  his  borrowed  plot  is  evident  at  several  points, 
particularly  in  the  unsatisfactory  denouement.  The  tricks  of 
fortune  with  the  family  of  Cesare  Gravina,  then,  may  not  improb- 
ably have  suggested  the  "good  and  evil  successes"  of  the  Galiarbus 
household. 

The  author  of  Common  Conditions  would  have  been  credited 
with  more  perfect  control  over  the  technical  factors  of  the  dramatic 
art  if  a  complete  copy  of  his  play  had  never  been  found.  As 
long  as  it  was  known  only  in  the  mutilated  form  reprinted  by 
Brandl  and  Farmer,  his  apparent  inability  to  bring  it  to  a  definite 
and  satisfying  conclusion  could  not  be  urged  against  him.  For 
this,  however,  the  author,  as  Mr.  Brooke  suggests,  may  not  have 
been  responsible.  Otherwise,  the  play  is  fully  up  to  the  level  of 
what  we  should  expect  when  we  consider  its  early  date.  The  writer 
did  not  profit  by  what  his  predecessors  had  taught  him,  of  the  advan- 
tage to  be  gained  by  the  form.al  di\dsion  of  his  material  into  acts 
and  scenes;  however,  he  exercises  over  it  a  fair  degree  of  control. 
The  complications  are  effected  almost  entirely  through  the  agency 
of  the  Vice,  "Conditions,"  whose  machinations  are  without  motive, 
as  they  are  without  consistency.  This,  however,  is  explained 
by  the  fact  that  he  is  not  only  performing  the  traditional  functions 
of  the  Vice,  but  is  also  typifying  somewhat  allegorically  the  vagaries 
of  fortune  in  human  affairs.  The  engrafting  of  the  comic  features 
upon  the  romantic  plot  is  also  done  rather  successfully.  "Con- 
ditions" is  easily  the  most  entertaining  character  of  his  class  to 
be  found  in  any  play  of  the  period.  The  greatest  artistic  weakness 
of  the  play  is  the  use  of  the  lumbering  septenarius  as  the  verse- 
form,  though  anything  better  could  hardly  have  been  expected  of 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROIVIANTIC  PLAYS  105 

a  dramatic  poet  of  the  seventies  who  is  so  largely  committed  to 
tradition  as  is  the  author  of  Common  Conditions. 

Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes 

The  proportion  of  dramatized  romances  of  chivalry  among  the 
court  performances  during  the  first  period  in  the  history  of  Eliza- 
bethan drama  has  already  been  noted.  The  absence  of  contem- 
porary records  for  the  popular  stage  at  this  time  makes  it  impossible 
to  speak  with  certainty  as  to  its  character,  though  the  frequency 
with  which  such  plays  were  presented  at  court  is  probably  but  a 
reflection  of  their  popularity  with  the  pubhc.  Their  vogue  is 
well-nigh  fruitless,  however,  as  far  as  permanent  additions  to 
dramatic  literature  are  concerned.  The  whole  class  is  today 
represented  by  a  single  example,  which  bears  the  characteristic 
title,  "The  Historic  of  the  two  vaHant  Knights,  Syr  Clyomon 
Knight  of  the  Golden  Shield  sonne  to  the  King  of  Denmark:  And 
Clamydes  the  white  Knight,  sonne  to  the  King  of  Suavia." 

The  exact  date  of  the  play  can  not  be  determined.  No  trace 
of  it  appears  in  the  Stationers'  Register,  and  the  earliest  extant 
printed  copy  bears  the  date  of  1599.  Every  indication  points  to 
a  date  of  composition  very  much  earlier  than  this,  however.  In 
the  first  place,  the  title-page  describes  the  play  as  having  been 
"sundry  times  acted  by  her  Majesties  Players. "  This  alone  would 
preclude  a  date  later  than  1591,  for  this  company  appeared  at 
Court  only  once  after  that  year,  namely,  on  January  6,  1594. 
Fleay  lists  Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes  among  the  plays  acted 
at  Court  between  1587  and  1594.i«  But  even  in  that  case  it  must 
have  been  enjoying  the  privileges  of  rejuvenated  old  age.  It  is 
difficult  to  read  its  sprawling,  redundant  septenarii  without  feeHng 
that  to  assign  it  a  date  of  composition  not  much  later  than  the 
mid-seventies  is  to  ^vithhold  from  its  author  a  charity  to  which 
he  seems  justly  entitled. 

However,  the  crudites  of  language  and  versification  are  rather 
less  obvious  than  those  of  Common  Conditions,  with  which  Sir 
Clyomon  has  so  many  characteristics  in  common.  It  would  there- 
fore be  difficult,  it  seems,  to  defend  Dr.  Greg's  tentative  suggestion 
that  Sir  Clyomon  is  the  earlier  of  the  two.^^  Though  e\adences 
of  versification  and  meter  are  never  wholly  convincing,  in  this 

'^History  of  the  London  Stage,  89;  Chronicle  of  the  English  Drama,  II,  296. 
"5/r  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes,  Malone  Society  Reprint,  Introd.  p.  vi. 


106  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

case  they  point  strongly  to  the  opposite  conclusion;  and  the  rapidly 
changing  metrical  fashions  of  the  period  to  which  the  two  plays 
belong  give  to  chronological  arguments  based  upon  them  more 
than  usual  stability. 

An  examination  of  the  dramatic  meters  in  use  during  the  period 
shows  that  they  were  prevailingly  of  two  kmds:  the  long  doggerel 
line,  consisting  of  an  indefinite  number  of  syllables,  pelding  to  no 
uniform  system  of  scansion,  but  following  in  the  main  an  anapaestic 
pattern,  and  the  seven-foot  iambic  line,  or  septenarius,  written 
with  more  or  less  regard  for  regularity  and  uniformity.  Besides 
these,  short  "  Skeltonics, "  consisting  of  three  accents,  are  some- 
times met  with,  and  various  lyrical  measures  occur  in  impassioned 
soliloquies,2o  ^^^  because  of  their  relative  infrequency,  these  may 
be  left  out  of  account.  The  first  of  these  measures,  viz.,  the 
doggerel,  rhyming  usually  in  couplets,  but  sometimes  alternately, 
was  the  standard  for  the  drama  up  to  1560.  About  that  date 
such  non-dramatic  work  as  Tottel's  Miscellany  began  to  exercise  a 
decided  influence  for  regularity.  At  this  time,  too,  the  uniform 
seven-foot  iambic  couplet,  though  not  a  novelty,  was  given  wide  cur- 
rency through  its  use  by  Phaer  in  his  translations  of  Virgil,  and  by  Jas- 
per Hey  wood  and  the  other  translators  of  Seneca. '^^  These  influences 
began  to  show  themselves  in  the  drama  almost  immediately.  The 
versification  in  Gammer  Gmton's  Needle  (1559-60)  exhibits  a  dis- 
tinct iambic  basis,  with  some  approach  toward  regularity  in  the 
length  of  Hne.  Much  the  same  is  true  of  Damon  and  Pithias 
(1564)  and  Pacient  Grissill  (1 565) .  There  is  also  a  growing  tendency 
in  these  plays  to  confine  the  doggerel  to  the  humorous  and  less 
dignified  characters,  and  with  Apins  and  Virginia  (1567-8),  Hores- 
tes  (1567)  and  Cambyses  (1569-70),  the  custom  of  developing  the 
serious  parts  of  the  plots  in  couplets  of  fairly  regular  septenarii 
had  become  pretty  well  estabUshed.  The  old  tumbhng  measures 
were  not  wholly  displaced,  however,  even  in  serious  passages, 
and  their  use  by  low  and  comic  characters  became  a  tradition  which 
lasted  until  well-nigh  the  end  of  the  century. 

Common  Conditions  and  Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes  both 
follow  the  metrical  fashions  that  had  come  to  prevail  by  1570; 
that  is,  their  serious  and  dignified  characters  almost  invariably 
employ  the  seven-foot  iambic  couplet,  while  their  comic  clown 

'"  See,  for  example,  Clyomon  and  Clamydes,  11.  990-1006. 
!        =1  Cf.  Bond,  Early  Plays  from  the  Italian,  Introductory  Essay,  p.  Ixxxii  ff. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  107 

scenes  are  developed  in  couplets  composed  of  the  hobbling,  irregular 
doggerel.  Yet  the  quality  of  the  versification  in  the  two  plays  is 
not  the  same.  In  Common  Conditions  strict  adherence  to  the  stan- 
dard fourteener  is  far  less  marked,  the  tendency  to  break  away 
from  it  being  quite  noticeable  in  those  passages  which  consist  of  a 
rapid  interchange  of  speech  among  characters.  Moreover,  the 
hne  often  moves  with  a  freedom  and  a  disregard  for  metrical  pre- 
cision which  obscure  the  iambic  pattern  of  the  verse  and  make  its 
scansion  uncertain.  Much  the  same  crudities  of  language  and  the 
same  uncouth  expedients  adopted  to  meet  the  demands  of  rhyme 
and  meter  are  observable  in  both  plays,  though  a  sHghtly  greater 
degree  of  sophistication  may  perhaps  be  claimed  for  Sir  Clyomon 
and  Sir  Clamydes.  At  any  rate,  one  gets  the  impression  that 
there  was  some  consistency  of  motive  beliind  the  linguistic  and 
syntactical  atrocities  of  the  last-named  play.  The  writer  seems 
to  have  been  ready  to  move  heaven  and  earth  in  the  effort  to  secure 
the  necessary  uniformity  and  balance  of  his  hne,  and  in  carrying 
out  his  purpose  he  has  forced  the  language  into  open  rebellion 
against  all  the  laws  of  grammar.  Almost  any  contortion  of  phrase 
or  absurdity  in  diction  is  admitted  if  it  makes  for  regularity  in 
the  construction  of  the  seven-foot  couplet.  Awkward  expletives 
and  various  roundabout  and  redundant  expressions  are  employed 
for  this  purpose,  and  words  are  made  to  assume  strange  and  un- 
grammatical  forms  for  the  sake  of  rhyme  and  meter.  It  is  not  often 
that  exigencies  of  the  dialogue  are  allowed  to  interfere  with  his 
cherished  design,  but  when  an  incomplete  Hne  is  admitted,  care 
is  usually  taken  to  have  the  succeeding  Hne  till  up  the  measure 
according  to  rule.  And  in  his  singleness  of  purpose,  the  writer 
has  succeeded  admirably.  Most  of  his  couplets  are  so  rigidly 
symmetrical  that  one  feels  they  would  remain  stable  if  stood  on 
end,  but  they  approximate  very  nearly  to  the  well-defined  type. 
The  iambic  meter,  too,  re-enforced  often  by  alHteration  and  always 
supported  by  a  strongly  marked  caesura,  falls  with  a  metalHc 
cKck  which  leaves  one  no  choice  but  to  observe.  The  effect  of 
the  whole  is  mechanical,  of  course,  and  highly  monotonous,  but  it 
indicates  that  the  writer  felt  himself  to  be  at  least  under  certain 
metrical  obHgations. 

The  Middle-English  ballad  measure,  then,  made  rigidly  iambic 
in  movement,  and  written  in  the  form  of  a  couplet,  is  the  stiff  and 
unwieldy  unit  with  which  both  Common  Conditions  and  Clyomon 


108  ROMANTIC  DR.\MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

and  Clamydes  are  struggling  to  meet  the  demands  of  varied  and 
natural  dramatic  expression.  The  entry  of  Common  Condilions  in 
the  Stationers'  Register  fixes  its  date  as  not  later  than  July,  1576, 
while  a  perceptibly  greater  maturity  of  style  in  the  companion 
play  points  to  a  date  of  composition  during  the  years  immediately 
following.  Its  naive  artistry  fails  to  obscure  many  crudities,  how- 
ever, and  the  metrical  fashions  which  it  exhibits  argue  strongly 
against  a  date  much  later  than  1580. 

The  greatest  interest  which  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  has  hitherto 
aroused  among  critics  has  been  in  the  question  of  its  authorsliip, 
and  much  speculation,  though  Httle  convincing  argument,  has 
been  advanced,  fixing  the  responsibility  upon  various  writers  of 
the  period.  Dyce,  in  1839,  included  it  in  his  edition  of  the  works 
of  George  Peele  on  the  ground  that  "a  manuscript  note  in  a  very 
old  hand"  upon  the  title-page  of  a  copy  of  the  play  attributed  it 
to  Peele,  though  no  copy  bearing  such  a  note  is  known  to  biblio- 
graphers today.  This  ascription  was  repeated  by  Ward^^  and 
others,  who  made  no  attempt  to  verify  it.  But  when  critical 
attention  was  once  fixed  upon  the  matter,  it  was  found  to  be  easy 
to  disprove  Peele's  authorship,  and  this  has  been  done  to  the 
satisfaction  of  almost  every  one.^^  Various  other  conjectures  as 
to  its  author  have  been  made.  Fleay  at  first  incHned  to  the  opinion 
that  both  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  and  Common  Conditions  were 
the  work  of  Robert  Wilson,  but  later  decided  to  claim  them  for 
the  "R.  B."  (supposedly  Richard  Bower)  whose  initials  occur  on 
the  title-page  of  A  plus  and  Virginia,-'^  while  Professor  Kittredge, 
chiefly  on  the  basis  of  parallehsm  in  language,  assigns  both  plays 
to  Thomas  Preston,  author  of  Cambyses.-^ 

The  probabiHty  of  a  common  authorship  for  the  two  plays  has 
impressed  almost  every  critic  who  has  studied  them,  and  others  have 
followed  Professor  Kittredge  in  noting  a  general  similiarity  in 
spirit  and  method  between  them  and  Preston's  Cambyses.  The 
argument,  though  plausible,  is  by  no  means  conclusive,  however. 
There  are  fairly  close  agreements  in  meter  and  vocabulary,  as  well 

^^  History  of  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.,  I,  203. 

-3  The  most  careful  study  of  the  question  is  that  by  L.  Kellner,  Englischc  Studien, 
XIII,  187-229.  R.  Fisher,  Engl.  Stud.  XIV,  344-365,  still  argues  in  favor  of  the  attri- 
bution to  Peele. 

^*  Chron.  Eng.  Drama,  II,  296 

^Jrl.Gmc.Phil.,ll,SS. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  109 

as  in  spirit  and  subject-matter,  between  a  number  of  extant  plays 
of  the  early  Elizabethan  period  for  which  a  common  authorship  is 
never  claimed, — resemblances  which  may  very  well  be  due  to 
current  fashions  in  language  and  versification  and  to  the  use  of 
long  surviving  dramatic  conventions.  The  whole  vexed  problem 
is  adequately  disposed  of  by  Mr.  Tucker  Brooke  in  his  recent 
scholarly  edition  of  Common  Conditio7is.  After  pointing  out  the 
rather  notable  resemblance  between  certain  details  of  Camhyses 
and  Conditions,  and  the  still  more  obvious  resemblance  between 
Conditions  and  Clyomon,  he  adds:  "Whether  these  similarities, 
undoubtedly  striking  as  they  are,  can  be  held  to  justify  the  assump- 
tion of  common  authorship  for  the  three  plays  or  for  two  of  them, 
can  only  be  fairly  determined,  I  think,  when  we  are  more  in  a 
position  than  at  present  to  estimate  how  far  such  devices  belonged 
to  the  general  repertory  of  dramatic  writers  at  the  time  when 
the  plays  were  produced.  "^"^ 

But  if  we  may  not  answer  with  finality  the  question  of  the 
authorship  of  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  or  the  date  of  its  composi- 
tion, we  are  more  fortunate  with  respect  to  another  question  that 
has  proved  both  puzzHng  and  interesting,  namely,  that  of  its  source. 
As  noted  above,  it  is  the  single  surviving  representative  of  a  large 
group  of  early  EHzabethan  plays  which  found  their  plot  materials 
in  the  mediaeval  romances  of  chivalry.  Knightly  ideals  of  love 
and  honor,  the  staple  of  mediaeval  fiction,  are  here  supported 
by  the  time-honored  machinery  of  flying  serpents,  magic  forests, 
wicked  enchanters,  storms,  ship-wrecks,  and  all  the  other  para- 
pherneha  with  which  the  mediaeval  repository  was  so  liberally 
stocked.  The  genre  to  which  the  play  belongs  has  always  been 
absolutely  beyond  question,  but  the  statement  is  sometimes  made 
that  the  romance  upon  which  it  was  based  had  been  lost.  Fleay 
characteristically  sweeps  aside  all  difficulty  as  to  source  by  pro- 
nouncing both  it  and  Common  Conditions  to  be  "long  winded 
folk-lore  romances.""  The  presence  of  certain  incongruities  in 
the  motives  and  incidents  of  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  has  lent  color 
to  the  suggestion  that  it  was  not  a  transference  in  toto  of  one  of  the 
rambling  tales  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  the  Elizabethan  stage,  but  a 
more  or  less  free  adaptation  of  conventional  material,  either  by  the 
dramatist  himself  or  by  some  contemporary  romancer  who  could 

-'  Loc.  cit.,  p.  85. 

"  Cliron.  Of  English.  Drama,  II,  296. 


110  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

still  find  inspiration  in  the  traditions  of  feudalism  and  chivalry. 
But  all  difficulties  of  this  kind  disappear  when  the  exact  source 
of  the  play  is  known. 

Its  story  is  a  veritable  riot  of  adventure.  In  the  opening 
lines  we  are  regaled  with  the  excitement  of  a  shipwreck,  through 
which  Sir  Clamydes,  son  of  the  King  of  Suavia,  is  driven  upon  the 
shores  of  Denmark.  Meeting  with  the  King's  daughter,  Juliana, 
he  learns  from  her  that  a  certain  flying  serpent  has  its  habitation 
in  a  neighboring  magic  forest,  called  the  Forest  of  Strange  Marvels, 
from  which  it  emerges  to  prey  upon  fair  ladies.  He  obtains  the 
additional  interesting  information  that  she  has  made  a  vow  pledging 
herself  to  give  her  hand  in  marriage  to  the  knight  who  will  per- 
form the  feat  of  kilhng  the  serpent  and  presenting  her  with  its  head. 
Clamydes  readily  agrees  to  undertake  this  enterprise  on  condition 
that  he  first  be  allowed  to  return  to  the  court  of  his  father  to  receive 
the  order  of  knighthood,  and  on  his  departure  she  presents  him 
with  a  beautiful  shield  of  silver,  from  which  he  thenceforth  bears 
the  name  of  "the  white  Knight  of  the  Silver  Shield." 

In  what  should  be  Act  one.  Scene  two  of  the  play  we  are  intro- 
duced to  the  first  of  the  titular  heroes.  Sir  Clyomon,  Knight  of  the 
Golden  Shield,  and  brother  of  Juliana,  who  is  travelling  in  disguise 
in  search  of  adventure,  snd  who  has  resolved  to  reveal  his  name 
and  kindred  only  on  condition  that  he  be  overthrown  in  single  combat. 
Subtle  Shift,  a  knave  who  declares  himself  to  be  Knowledge, 
son  of  Apollo,  appears  at  this  juncture,  and  is  retained  by  Clyomon 
as  his  servant.  The  two  reach  the  court  of  the  King  of  Suavia 
just  as  the  elaborate  ceremonies  of  conferring  Knighthood  upon 
Clamydes  are  in  full  progress.  Clyomon  is  seized  with  a  desire 
to  receive  knighthood  at  the  hands  of  the  King;  so,  standing  by 
unobserved,  at  the  proper  moment  he  slyly  kneels  at  the  feet  of 
the  monarch,  who  with  upHfted  sword  is  repeating  the  adjuration 
to  courtesy,  valor,  etc.,  and  receives  upon  his  own  shoulders  the 
stroke  that  was  intended  for  Clamydes.  Having  been  dubbed  a 
knight,  he  mounts  his  horse  and  flees  rapidly,  followed'  by  Subtle 
Shift.  The  King  is  naturally  furious  at  this  intrusion,  and  orders 
immediate  pursuit.  Subtle  Shift,  on  being  captured,  at  once 
renounces  his  former  master,  and  enters  the  service  of  Clamydes. 
The  King  completes  the  interrupted  ceremony  of  conferring  knight- 
hood upon  his  son,  commands  him  to  go  in  immediate  pursuit  of 
the  unknown  intruder  who  has  robbed  him  of  his  honor,  and  not 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  1 1 1 

to  return  to  court  until  he  has  forced  him  to  tell  his  name.  Clamy- 
des  sets  out  at  once,  and  coming  upon  the  object  of  his  search, 
demands  an  explanation  of  his  recent  conduct.  This  of  course 
the  Knight  of  the  Golden  Shield  refuses.  The  battle  is  joined, 
but  after  fighting  furiously  though  indecisively  for  some  time, 
they  agree  to  meet  fifteen  days  later  at  the  court  of  Alexander  for 
a  final  settlement  of  their  difficulties.  The  White  Knight  decides 
to  spend  the  intervening  time  in  slaying  the  flying  serpent,  while 
the  Knight  of  the  Golden  Shield  continues  his  pursuit  of  adven- 
tures in  whatever  quarter  they  may  be  found. 

Clyomon  does  not  pursue  a  fruitless  quest.  We  next  see  him 
some  days  later  being  put  ashore  by  some  mariners  on  the  Isle  of 
Strange  Marches.  He  is  dreadfully  ill;  furthermore,  he  is  told  by 
the  captain  of  the  vessel  that  it  v/ould  require  twenty  days  to  reach 
the  court  of  Alexander.  He  knows  therefore  that  he  cannot  pos- 
sibly keep  his  appointment  with  the  White  Knight,  and  that  he 
will  be  accused  of  cowardice  in  consequence.  Unable  to  proceed 
further,  he  falls  prostrate  upon  the  shore,  where  he  is  found  by 
Neronis,  daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Strange  Marches.  She  has 
him  taken  secretly  into  the  castle,  and  nurses  him  back  to  health, 
which  of  course  leads  to  a  love-affair  of  extraordinary  strength 
and  proportions.  Neronis  asks  his  name  and  lineage,  but  these 
he  assures  her  he  cannot  give  without  breaking  a  solemn  vow.  His 
unavoidable  dehnquency  in  the  matter  of  his  appointment  with 
the  White  Knight  weighs  heavily  upon  his  mind;  and  so  when  able 
to  travel,  he  sets  out  in  haste  to  meet  with  that  aggrieved  cavalier 
at  the  earliest  possible  opportunity,  agreeing  to  return  to  the  Isle 
of  Strange  Marches  in  sixty  days. 

After  his  departure,  the  King  of  Norway  comes  to  woo  Neronis, 
but  receiving  little  encouragement,  he  entices  her  on  board  his 
ship,  and  sails  away.  News  of  this  rash  deed  reaches  Clyomon  in 
his  wanderings,  and  he  sets  out  in  pursuit.  Neronis  meanwhile, 
escaping  from  her  abductors,  dons  male  attire  and  enters  the 
service  of  Corin,  an  old  shepherd.  The  Knight  of  the  Golden 
Shield,  overtaking  the  King  of  Norway,  puts  him  to  death,  placing 
over  his  grave  his  own  golden  arms.  Neronis,  seeing  these,  thinks 
her  lover  has  been  slain,  and  is  about  to  take  her  own  Hfe,  when 
Providence  appears  to  inform  her  that  he  still  lives.  The  two 
then  meet  without  recognizing  each  other,  Neronis  being  still  in 
her  man's  garb,   and   Clyomon  wearing  his  helmet  with  closed 


112         ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

visor,  as  was  his  custom.  The  Knight  inquires  the  name  of  the 
handsome  young  rustic.  "Couer  Dacier,"  is  the  reply.  "What, 
Heart  of  Steel?"  he  says;  "the  name  pleases  me  well."  She 
is  then  retained  as  his  page.  News  arrives  that  the  King  of  Strange 
IMarches  has  lately  died,  and  that  a  dispute  over  the  succession 
of  the  crown  has  arisen  between  the  Queen  and  Mustantius,  brother 
of  the  late  King.  The  matter  is  to  be  decided  by  wager  of  battle, 
and  Clyomon  goes  thither  with  the  double  purpose  of  obtaining 
news  of  Neronis  and  of  serving  as  champion  to  the  Queen. 

In  the  meantime,  Sir  Clamydes,  the  White  Knight,  has  been 
waging  a  losing  fight  against  ill  fortune.  On  leaving  the  Knight 
of  the  Golden  Shield,  accompanied  by  his  servant,  Shift,  he  plunges 
into  the  Forest  of  Marvels  in  search  of  the  flying  serpent.  He  soon 
learns  that  this  forest  contains  another  peril.  Brian  Sans  Foy, 
a  cowardly  magician,  dwells  there,  spending  his  time  in  charming 
travellers  and  shutting  them  up  in  prison.  His  cliief  desire  is  to 
cast  a  spell  upon  the  knight  who  shall  succeed  in  cutting  off  the 
head  of  the  flying  serpent,  imprison  him,  rob  him  of  his  trophy, 
and  thus  through  another's  valor  win  for  himself  the  fair  Juliana, 
whom  he  is  very  desirous  of  possessing.  These  evil  designs  promise 
to  succeed.  Clamydes  cuts  off  the  head  of  the  serpent  according 
to  program,  but  through  the  cowardly  treachery  of  Subtle  Shift, 
he  is  robbed  of  his  trophy  and  imprisoned.  The  knavish  servant 
repents  of  his  treason  at  last,  however,  and  liberates  his  master, 
along  with  several  other  imprisoned  knights,  on  the  very  day  set 
for  the  combat  with  Clyomon  at  the  court  of  Alexander.  The 
grief  of  Clamydes  over  the  loss  of  the  fruits  of  his  valor,  together 
with  the  white  shield  given  him  by  Juliana,  is  further  increased 
by  the  reflection  that  his  failure  to  meet  the  Knight  of  the  Golden 
Shield  will  be  attributed  to  cowardice. 

On  being  hberated,  he  sets  out  without  any  definite  intentions, 
hoping  that  fortune  will  help  him  to  recover  his  trophy  and  pre- 
serve his  honor.  He  hears  of  the  dispute  over  the  succession  of 
the  crown  in  the  Isle  of  Strange  Marches,  and  proceeds  thither. 
Offering  himself  as  the  champion  of  Mustantius,  he  is  gratified 
to  find  himself  confronted  by  Clyomon,  who  is  serving  in  the  same 
capacity  to  the  Queen.  Through  the  mediation  of  Alexander, 
however,  the  political  dispute  is  settled  without  combat  between 
the  Knights.  Their  personal  grievances  are  adjusted  in  the  same 
way;  and  peace  and  amity  being  thus  restored,  they  all  set  out  to 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  113 

the  court  of  Suavia  to  thwart  the  wicked  designs  of  Brian  Sans 
Foy.  On  arriving,  they  find  the  fortunes  of  the  enchanter  pros- 
pering. Re-enforced  by  the  shield  and  the  serpent's  head,  he  has 
been  received  as  the  real  Sir  Clamydes  by  Juliana,  who  is  on  the 
point  of  redeeming  her  pledge  by  bestowing  her  hand  upon  him. 
But  upon  being  challenged  to  combat  by  Clamydes,  Brian  acknowl- 
edges that  he  is  an  imposter,  and  is  allowed  to  escape.  The 
real  indentity  of  Neronis,  who  as  Couer  D'Acier  has  all  this  time 
been  serving  Clyomon  as  a  page,  is  at  last  revealed,  and  the  nuptial 
celebrations  follow  in  short  order. 

The  original  of  this  wildly  romantic  story  is  to  be  found  in  the 
French  prose  romance  of  Percejorest.  ^^  In  Volume  II,  chapter 
142  of  that  work,  Perceforest,  King  of  Great  Britain,  is  represented 
as  conferring  knighthood  upon  his  only  son,  Bethides,  and  three 
of  his  nephews,  sons  of  the  King  of  India.  The  ceremonies  are 
interrupted  through  the  boldness  of  an  unknown  Knight  bearing 
no  insignia  except  a  plain  golden  shield,  precisely  as  described  in 
the  play.  This  incident,  which  sets  in  motion  the  machinery  of  the 
entire  story,  may  perhaps  be  quoted  in  full.  How  the  Knight  of 
the  Golden  Shield  received  the  stroke  is  told  in  the  romance  as 
follows : 

"Tandis  que  les  damoiseaulx  sarmoient  et  que  le  roy  estoit 
tout  apparielle  pour  leur  donner  la  colee  il  yssit  de  la  forest  qui 
assez  pres  estoit  ung  ieune  damoisel  arme  de  haulbergeon  et  de 
chausses  de  fer,  mais  son  escu  et  son  heaulme  pendoient  a  larson 
de  la  selle,  et  se  portoit  en  sa  senestre  main  une  forte  lance  et  ung 
esperons  dorez.  Si  venoit  se  roidement  quil  sembloit  quon  le 
chassast  a  tuer,  ainsi  quil  venoit  tant  quil  pouoit:  il  regarde  et 
voit  ung  chevalier  arme  de  noires  armes  qui  sapuyoit  sur  son 
cheual.   .  .   .     Le  damoisel  sen  Vint  a  luy  et  luy  dist.     Sire  cheva- 

'^  A  Treselegante,  Delicieuse,  Melliflue  et  tresplaisante  Hystoire  du  tresnoble, 
Victorieux  et  excellentissimi  roy  Perceforest,  Roy  de  la  grant  Bretaigne,  fundateur 
du  Franc  palais  et  du  temple  du  souuerain  dieu.  En  laquelle  le  lecteur  pourra  veoir 
la  source  et  decoration  de  toute  Chevalerie,  Culture  de  vraye  Noblesse,  Prouesses  et 
conquestes  infinies,  accomplies  des  le  temps  du  conquerant  Alexandre  le  grant,  et  de 
Julius  cesar  au  par  avant  la  nativite  de  nostre  soulueur  Jesuchrist. "  Folio,  Black 
Letter.  6  vols,  in  3.  Galliot  du  Pre,  Paris,  1528.  The  romance  is  difficult  of  access, 
especially  to  American  students.  A  copy,  formerly  in  the  library  of  the  Duke  of 
Roxburghe  and  that  of  N.  Yeminiz,  has  been  since  February,  1908,  in  the  Library  of 
Harvard  University,  from  which  I  was  able  to  secure  it  through  the  kind  cooperation 
of  the  Library  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 


114         ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

lier  ie  vous  prie  que  me  Vueillez  ceindre  mon  espee  et  chausser  mon 
esperons  dorez,  car  ie  seray  tantost  cheualier  se  ie  puis.  Le  chevalier 
qui  pensoit  moult  fort  a  une  grosse  besongne  quil  avoit  affaire, 
quil  ne  veoit  pas  a  sa  voulente:  si  estoit  tout  courrouce,  et  toutes- 
fois  luy  respondit  et  dist.  Sire  escuyer  delivrez  moy  les  esperons 
et  lespee,  et  le  ieune  damoisel  luy  bailla,  et  le  chevalier  print  les 
esperons  et  luy  chaussa  a  cheval:  et  puis  luy  ceindist  lespee  et 
luy  dist.  Or  vouz  fault  la  colee.  Sire  dist  le  damoisel  ie  attens 
a  recevoir  la  colee  du  plus  preudhomme  du  monde.  Lors  brocha 
son  cheval  des  esperons  et  sen  alia  cheuauchant  grant  erre.  Moult 
fut  lie  le  iouuencel  quant  il  se  sentit  si  aduance  destre  chevalier. 
.  .  .  Lors  regarda  emmy  la  prayerie  et  veit  quatre  chavaliers 
armez  a  pied.  Et  ung  chevalier  arme  qui  adouboit  trois  damoi- 
seaulx.  Tantost  qui  les  veit  le  cuer  luy  dist  que  cestoit  le  chevalier 
qui  adouboit  son  filz  et  ses  deux  nepueux.  Lors  fut  si  lye  quil 
tressailloit  tout  de  ioye,  et  part  angresse  sailloit  ius  de  son  cheval, 
si  lanca  en  la  moyenne  deulx  et  mist  son  col  soubz  la  palme  de  la 
main  du  gentil  roy  quil  auoit  hault  leue  pour  donner  la  colee  a  son 
iilz.  Et  le  roy  ferit  telle  colee  que  toute  la  place  en  retentit  en 
disant.  Chevalier  soyes  preux  et  loyal,  et  le  nouuel  chevalier  se 
leua  et  dist.  Si  seray  ie  si  plaist  dieu,  et  grant  mercis  de  vostre 
doctrine  ennuyt  faicte  au  temple.  Lors  se  retourna  tout  a  ung 
faix,  si  saillit  sur  son  cheval  puis  se  fiert  au  tourney  arme.  .  .  . 
Quant  le  roy  veit  lestrange  adventure  il  fut  tout  esbahy,  lors  dist 
tant  en  hault.  Damoisel  qui  a  supplante  la  colee  a  mon  filz,  et 
puis  se  departit  de  nous  se  soubdainement,  .  .  .  cest  signe  de 
grant  valleur  .  .  .  Sire  dist  lung  des  chevaliers  Indois  faictes 
les  damoiseaulx  chevaliers  car  si  vostre  filz  eust  receu  la  colee  ii 
fust  mort.  Sire  chevalier  dist  le  roy  ie  le  feray.  Lors  haulsa  la 
paulme  et  luy  donna  une  grande  colee  en  disant.  Chevalier  soyez 
preux  et  hardy  et  loj^al  a  meilleure  heure  que  deuant  neussiez 
este  affin  que  iamais  ne  retourne  du  tournoy  si  me  sache  adire 
quel  chavalier  fut  qui  to  supplanta  la  colee.  Quant  le  roy  eut  ce 
dit  Bethides  le  ieune  chevalier  respondit.  Cher  seigneur  vostre  mer- 
cis ie  feray  vostre  commandement. .  .  .  Bethides  portoit  armes  toutes 
blanches  .  .  .  etle  ieune  chevalier  qui  portoit  la  colee  premiere  portoit 
unes  armes  toutes  dor  sans  autre  enseigne.  Bien  auez  vous  ouy 
comment  le  roy  Perceforest  fist  son  filz  chevalier,  et  ses  troie 
cousins,  et  comment  le  chevalier  aux  armes  dor  eut  la  primiere 
colee  par  sa  grande  tangresse  quil  auoit  destre  chavalier.  "^^ 

"  Volume  II,  chapter  142. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  115 

Le  Blanc  Chavalier  loses  no  time  in  setting  about  the  execution 
of  his  father's  commands,  and  being  once  embarked  on  his  mission, 
he  must  not  again  see  "Ic  roy  son  pere  tant  quil  scauroit  le  nom 
du  chevalier  aux  amies  dor:  qui  depuis  fut  nomme  le  chevalier 
dore,  pource  que  il  vint  au  tournay  couuert  luy  et  son  cheval  de 
couuertures  dorees  sans  autre  congnoissance  et  son  escu,  et  puis 
porta  lescu  si  languemcnt  que  luy  en  demoura  le  nom." 

The  first  encounter  occurs  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of 
the  court.  On  seeing  his  enemy,  the  White  Knight  cries,  "Sire 
Chevalier,  arestez  vouz  tout  que  vous  me  ayez  dit  vostre  nom." 
"Comment,  beau  Sire,"  dist  le  Chevalier,  "qui  estes  vous  qui 
mon  nom  voulez  scauoir?"  "Je  suis,"  dist  Bethides,  "ung  cheva- 
lier a  qui  vous  auez  fait  villennye."  "Sire,"  dist  le  chevalier  dore, 
"sachez  vous  que  jay  voue  que  mon  nom  ne  diray  a  chevalier  se 
je  ne  le  tiens  a  la  bataille  meilleur  chevalier  que  moy.  "^^ 

The  issue  being  thus  squarely  drawn,  they  fight  furiously  for 
some  time,  but  neither  can  gain  the  advantage.  Owing  to  the 
unseasonable  hour — it  is  midnight — the  Black  Knight,  who  is 
watching  the  conflict,  suggests  that  the  fight  be  discontinued, 
and  that  they  meet  fifteen  days  hence  at  the  Pine  of  Marvels  in 
the  Forest  of  Darnant,  to  decide  the  question  at  issue.  Both 
agree  to  this,  and  pledge  their  sacred  honor  to  meet  at  the  time 
and  place  specified.     Each  then  goes  his  way. 

The  story  is  resumed  in  Volume  three,  chapter  five.  Le  Cheva- 
lie_re  D^e  goes  abroad  asking  everyone  how  and  where  he  can  find 
"le  pin  de  la  fiere  merveille."  He  gets  no  satisfactory  reply 
until  he  puts  the  question  to  an  ancient  dame  at  whose  house  he 
has  passed  the  night.  Yes,  she  has  heard  of  the  Pine  of  Marvels. 
It  is,  she  thinks,  two  days'  journey  from  there,  toward  the  rising 
sun.  Proceeding  as  per  directions,  he  reaches  the  pine  on  the  day 
before  that  set  for  the  meeting.  Nailed  to  the  tree  he  finds  a  scroll 
bearing  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that  "Nul  ne  doit  estre  tenu 
pour  chevalier  sil  na  veille  icy  une  nuyct  pour  y  veoir  les  merueilles 
qui  ef  aduiennent."  Of  course  he  can  not  afford  to  ignore  this 
challenge  of  his  valor,  and  takes  up  his  position  at  the  foot  of  the 
tree.  But  shortly  after  nightfall  he  hears  a  roaring  sound  as  if  a 
storm  were  approaching,  and  when  he  regains  consciousness,  he 
finds  himself  lying  alone  and  deathly  sick  in  a  meadow  in  an  utterly 
unfamiliar   country.     Presently   a   beautiful   young   girl   appears, 

'»  Volume  III,  chapter  144,  fol.  144  b. 


116         ROMANTIC  DR.A.MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

and  with  the  help  of  her  companions,  she  removes  him  to  a  near-by 
castle,  where  for  many  weary  days  she  ministers  to  him,  and  finally 
restores  him  to  health.  She  tells  him  that  he  is  in  the  land  of  the 
Strange  Marches,  and  that  she  is  Nerones,  daughter  of  the  King  of 
the  country.  She  asks  about  himself,  but  with  deep  concern  lest 
he  be  thought  discourteous,  he  replies  that  he  has  vowed  not  to 
reveal  his  name  or  state,  unless  overcome  by  force  of  arms.  She 
is  certain  that  he  is  of  distinguished  lineage,  however,  and  declares 
her  love  for  him.  He  assures  her  that  the  passion  is  mutual,  but 
adds  that  obligations  involving  his  honor  must  take  him  out  of 
the  country  as  soon  as  he  is  able  to  travel.  He  promises,  however, 
to  return  in  sixty  days.  She  warns  him  that  delay  is  dangerous, 
refers  to  several  suitors  who  are  more  or  less  insistent,  and  men- 
tions specifically  the  King  of  Norway,  who  is  expected  to  arrive 
in  the  country  to  conduct  his  suit  in  person.  He  insists  that  he 
must  first  discharge  some  unnamed  duty,  however,  and  sets  out, 
bitterly  lamenting  that  fate  has  prevented  his  keeping  faith  with 
the  White  Knight. 

Almost  immediately  the  King  of  Norway  appears  in  the  Strange 
Marches  and  announces  liis  suit.^^  The  King,  father  of  Nerones, 
expresses  himself  as  altogether  favorable,  but  announces  that  the 
custom  and  usage  of  the  country  are  that,  when  a  King's  daughter 
is  to  be  married,  the  prospective  husband  must  spend  sixty  days 
on  the  Isle  Despreuve;  and  if  during  this  time  any  knight  comes  to 
fight  vdih  him  and  overthrows  him,  he  must  depart  without  seeing 
the  princess  again.  The  King  of  Norway,  though  not  pleased,  is 
forced  to  consent.  The  first  night  he  spends  on  the  Isle  of  Trial, 
he  has  a  dream  that  a  knight  comes  from  Great  Britain,  takes 
him  by  the  feet,  and  throws  him  into  the  river.  This  dream  recurs 
every  night  until  the  fifteenth  night,  when  he  dreams  that  a  cavalier 
bearing  a  golden  shield  comes  and  puts  him  to  death.  This  ter- 
rifies him  beyond  measure.  After  consulting  with  some  of  his 
lords,  he  yields  to  the  suggestion  that  Nerones  be  carried  away 
at  once  by  force,  and  the  plan  is  speedily  put  into  execution. 

But  preceding  this,  Nerones,  becoming  alarmed  at  the  turn 
affairs  were  taking,  despatched  one  of  her  maids  to  find  the  chevalier 
dore,  and  warn  him  that  the  King  of  Norway  was  already  spending 
his  time  on  the  Isle  of  Trial,  and  that  unless  something  were  done, 
she  would  soon  have  to  become  his  wife.^- 

^'  The  stor>'  is  resumed  in  Vol.  Ill,  Chap.  33. 

'-The  account  of  the  meeting  between  the  Chevalier  Dore  and  this  maiden, 
and  the  mutual  shock  they  experienced  on  discovering  that  unknowingly  they  had 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  117 

When  the  Chevalier  Dore  learns  of  this,  he  gives  up  the  search 
for  the  White  Knight,  and  returns  to  the  Strange  Marches,  only 
to  find  that  Nerones  has  already  been  carried  away.  He  goes 
in  pursuit.  But  Nerones  proves  a  very  troublesome  captive  for 
the  King  of  Norway.  She  at  last  outwits  him  by  feigning  death, 
and  is  put  into  the  tomb.  But  when  the  burial  party  has  with- 
drawn, she  steals  out  of  the  tomb,  goes  to  a  farm-house  some 
miles  away,  and  recounts  her  troubles.  The  lady  in  whom  she 
confides  suggests  that,  in  order  to  elude  the  King  of  Norway,  who 
is  certain  to  discover  the  deception  and  begin  search,  she  assume 
the  disguise  of  a  shepherd  boy,  and  spend  her  time  for  a  while  in 
tending  sheep.  This  pleases  Nerones  immensely,  and  she  carries 
out  the  suggestion  at  once,  the  lady  laughingly  conferring  on 
her,  when  she  sees  her  dressed  as  a  boy,  the  name  of  Couer  Dacier, 
in  honor  of  her  faithfulness  to  her  lover.^^ 

In  the  meanwhile  the  Chevalier  Dore  has  been  pursuing  the 
King  of  Norway.  Overtaking  him  at  last,  he  puts  him  to  death, 
and  with  the  help  of  a  hermit  who  passes  by  opportunely,  buries 
him.  The  incidents  of  this  part  of  the  romance— the  finding  of 
this  grave  by  Nerones,  her  recognition  of  the  shield  of  her  lover, 
and  her  joy  upon  learning  that  he  is  still  alive  and  searching  for 
her — are  essentially  those  of  the  play.^^  Upon  leaving  the  hermit, 
the  Chevalier  Dore  himself  spends  some  time  with  the  lowly  people 
of  the  country,  but  his  martial  instincts  reassert  themselves,  and 
he  takes  service  as  the  squire  of  a  knight  named  Pernehan,  calling 
himself  Tarquin,  to  conceal  his  true  identity .^'^  In  this  capacity  he 
fights  and  overthrows  a  gigantic  knight  named  Branq,  "cousin 
germain  au  geant  aux  crains  dorez";  and  Pernehan,  out  of  grati- 
tude, fits  him  out  with  a  horse  and  arms,  so  that  he  may  continue 
his  search  for  Nerones. 

As  he  is  taking  leave  of  Pernehan,  a  young  lad  appears  and  asks 
permission  to  serve  as  his  squire.  "Sire,"  il  dist,  "si  il  vous  plaist 
je  vous  seruiray  a  mon  pouoir  bien  et  souffisamment  et  ne  mespar- 

passed  a  night  together  at  the  foot  of  an  oak  tree,  is  highly  amusing,  but  too  long  to 
be  given  even  in  summary  here.     It  is  told  in  III,  34  fol.  88  b-94  a. 

^'  "Par  ma  foy  vecy  img  beau  valletan  fendu,  mais  jen  veulx  estre  la  marraine, 
car  desorenois  le  nommeray  cueur  dacier.  Quant  la  pucelle  se  ouyt  nommer  cueur 
dacier  elle  commenca  a  rire  disant  que  le  nom  luy  plaisoit  bien."     Ill,  35,  fol.  94b. 

3<  Vol.  Ill,  chap.  35. 

^  Ibid.,  Chap.  36. 


118  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

gnez,  car  combien  que  je  saye  jeune,  si  ay  je  les  membres  fors  et 
durs. "  Mais  quant  Tarquin  eut  entendu  le  jouvencel,  qui  parloit  si 
promptement,  il  le  prisa  moult,  et  dist,  "Beau  sire,  vous  soyez 
bien  venu,  or  me  dictez  vostre  nom."  "Sire,"  dist  le  jouvencel. 
Ion  me  nom  Cueur  Dacier. "  "Cueur  Dacier!"  dist  Tarquin. 
" Cest  ung  nom  de  hault  emprinse. "  " Sire,. "  dist  il,  "qui  me  vault 
avoir  si  me  nomme  ainsi. "  "II  me  plaist  tres  bien, "  dist  le  Cheva- 
lier Dore"  .  .  .  Autant  le  Chevalier  Dore  print  conge  de  Per- 
nehan,  il  se  mist  a  la  voye  de  grant  randon,  car  il  estoit  monte  a 
lavantage,  et  si  avoit  tout  autre  serviteur  quil  ne  cuydoit,  car 
cestoit  la  belle  Nerones  quil  aymoit  mieulx  que  toutes  les  femmes 
du  monde."^" 

Nerones  is  equally  in  the  dark  as  to  the  identity  of  her  new 
master,  however,  since  the  Chevalier  Dore  no  longer  carries  his 
golden  arms,  and  continues  his  old  custom  of  travelling  always  with 
closed  helmet.  Several  days'  association  with  him  confirms  her 
suspicion  that  she  is  serving  her  lover,  however,  though  dread  of 
the  embarrassment  of  revealing  her  identity  induces  her  to  con- 
tinue the  disguise. 

They  travel  on  until  they  come  to  a  country  called  Borras, 
where  there  is  a  dispute  over  the  succession  of  the  crown.  It  having 
been  decided  to  settle  the  matter  by  wager  of  battle,  the  Chevalier 
Dore  offers  his  services  to  one  of  the  claimants,  and,  as  luck  would 
have  it,  the  Blanc  Chevalier,  who  has  been  roaming  all  lands  in 
search  of  his  enemy,  casts  in  his  sword  for  the  cause  of  the  other.^^ 

With  mutual  lack  of  recognition,  the  two  Knights  confront 
each  other  in  the  Hsts.  The  battle  is  joined  and  waged  with  awful 
fury.  The  spectators  are  so  moved  by  the  valor  of  the  contestants 
and  the  terrible  punishment  which  each  is  receiving,  that  they  ask 
the  disputing  parties  to  arrange  a  compromise.  This  is  done. 
The  poHtical  feud  is  settled.  But  the  Blanc  Chevalier,  having 
discovered  that  his  antagonist  is  really  the  ChevaUer  Dore,  demands 
to  know  his  name.  This  is  refused  of  course,  and  the  light  is  re- 
newed with  redoubled  fury.  The  decisive  blow  can  not  be  delivered, 
though  on  the  whole  the  Chevalier  Dore  has  a  little  the  better  of 
it.  During  a  lull  in  the  conflict  the  young  Knight  Gaddifer, 
son  of  the  King  of  Scotland,  sees  through  a  rent  in  the  armor  of 
Chevaher  Dore  a  birthmark  on  his  shoulder,  by  which  he  recognizes 

'«  Vol.  Ill,  fol.  98  a. 

'^  These  events  are  related  in  Vol.  Ill,  Chap.  40. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  119 

in  the  Chevalier  Dore  his  brother,  Nestor,  cousin  of  the  Blanc 
Chevalier.  This  discovery  of  course  brings  about  the  solution  of 
all  difficulties.  The  Chevalier  Dore  can  no  longer  conceal  his 
identity,  though  he  has  not  been  forced  to  reveal  it  to  a  better 
knight  than  himself.  The  Blanc  Chevaher  can  now  return  to 
his  father's  court,  since  he  knows  who  his  opponent  is.  In  company 
with  his  squire,  the  Chevalier  Dore  goes  for  a  visit  to  his  royal 
parents  in  Scotland,  where  the  clever  disguise  of  Cueur  Dacier 
is  soon  penetrated  by  the  keen  eye  of  the  Knight's  mother,  and 
in  the  end  all  things  turn  out  as  is  proper  in  the  ideal  world  of 
romance.^^ 

It  will  be  evident,  of  course,  that  the  dramatist  has  reproduced 
the  essential  features  of  this  narrative  with  strict  fidelity.  The 
material  for  the  Clamydes-Juliana  element  of  his  plot  he  has 
treated  somewhat  more  freely.  In  the  flying  serpent  which  preys 
upon  fair  ladies,  the  reward  oft"ered  by  Juliana  for  its  destruction, 
the  loss  of  the  trophy  through  the  machinations  of  the  imposter 
Brian  Sans  Foy,  his  unmasking,  and  the  final  triumph  of  justice 
in  the  marriage  of  Clamydes  and  Juliana,  we  have  a  perfect  version 
of  a  legend  widely  dissemiated  in  hterature  and  folk-lore,  and  known 
from  its  classic  examplar  as  the  Rescue  of  Andromeda.^^  To  Eng-  «^ 
lishmen  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  doubtless  most  familiar 
as  the  legend  of  Saint  George."**^  There  is  no  doubt,  however, 
that  the  author  of  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  used  the  slightly  distorted 
version  which  occurs  in  the  romance  of  Perceforest,  though  the  in- 
fluence of  the  popular  tradition  is  seen  in  his  apparent  effort  to 
restore  it  to  the  conventional  form. 

The  outline  of  the  story  as  it  occurs  in  the  romance  is  as  fol- 
lows :^^  A  Knight  named  Lyonnel  du  Glar  is  anxious  to  wed  the 

^*  The  account  of  the  unmasking  of  Cueur  Dacier  is  such  a  happy  blending  of 
qualities  not  often  found  in  the  romances  of  chivalry — humor,  pathos,  and  a  charming 
naivete  which  dispels  every  suggestion  of  immodesty — that  I  have  been  strongly 
tempted  to  quote  it  in  full. 

'*  This  fact  is  called  to  my  attention  by  Professor  Baskervill.  The  most  compre- 
hensive study  of  the  legend  is  that  by  E.  Sidney  Hartland,  The  Legend  of  Perseus, 
3  vols.  London,  1894. 

"Besides  the  numerous  folk  plays  on  the  subject,  there  had  apparently  been  a 
dramatic  rendering  of  the  classic  storj'  in  a  court  play, — the  "  Percius  and  .A.nthomeris, " 
given  by  Mulcaster's  children  on  Shrove  Tuesday,  1574.  See  Feuillerat,  Revels  of 
Elizabeth,  p.  208. 

^'  The  story  begins  with  Vol.  Ill,  chap.  53,  and  extends  over  chapters  47,  48,  55, 
57,  58,  61,  74  75,  and  80. 


120  ROMANTIC  DR,\MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Princess  Blanche,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Scotland,  and  sister 
of  the  Chevalier  Dore.  He  is  told  that  her  hand  will  be  given 
only  to  him  who  shall  slay  a  certain  flying  serpent,  destroy  two 
lions  who  are  ravaging  the  Kingdom  of  the  Strange  Marches, 
and  bring  to  her  the  head  of  the  Giant  with  Golden  Hair.  Accom- 
panied by  his  squire,  Clamydes,  Lyonnel  sets  out  to  accomplish 
all  these  feats.  After  incredible  difficulties  he  succeeds  in  slaying 
the  flying  serpent  and  the  two  lions  whose  ravages  have  almost 
converted  the  Strange  Marches  into  a  desert.  But  in  "le  geant 
aux  creins  dorez"  he  has  a  still  more  dreadful  antagonist.  Arriv- 
ing at  the  isle  of  the  giant,  Lyonnel  and  Clamydes  find  a  woman 
weeping  bitterly.  On  asking  the  reason,  they  are  told  that  she 
is  the  wife  of  the  giant,  and  has  lived  on  the  island  with  him  fifty 
years.  She  is  the  daughter  of  a  nobleman  of  Denmark,  and  fifty 
years  ago  she  married  a  knight  of  that  country,  who  for  his  great 
size  and  the  beauty  of  his  hair,  ''est  appelle  le  geant  aux  cheveulx 
dorez."  Until  the  birth  of  their  daughter  nine  years  ago,  she 
lived  happily  enough  with  the  giant,  but  since  then  he  has  developed 
bad  habits,  and  makes  no  secret  that  "si  tost  que  sa  fille  sera  en 
aage  quil  puisse  gesir  avec  elle,  quil  me  gectera  en  la  mer. "  More- 
ever,  "il  mest  autant  des  bonnes  damoisselles  de  ceste  ysle  quil 
par  sa  vile  luxure  ravist  pour  faire  sa  voulente,  dont  les  il  acoustre 
tellement  quelles  meurent  tantost :  car  elles  ne  sont  pas  de  grandeur 
pour  le  recevoir."  Lyonnel  and  Clamydes  decide  that  their  time 
will  be  well  employed  in  ridding  society  of  such  a  repulsive  creature, 
and  soon  have  his  golden  head  safe  in  their  possession.  Before 
leaving  the  island,  however,  Clamydes  marries  the  daughter  of 
the  giant,  who,  though  only  nine  years  old,  is  taller  than  the  tallest 
knight,  and  who,  in  marked  contrast  to  her  father,  is  of  a  very 
sweet  and  gentle  disposition.  On  the  return  to  Scotland  ''ung 
faulx  chevaHer"  named  Harban,  through  the  aid  of  enchantments, 
gets  possession  of  the  "chef  aux  creins  dorez,"  imprisons  Lyonnel, 
and  proceeds  to  court  to  claim  the  hand  of  the  princess.  His 
fraud  is  discovered,  however,  and  he  is  exposed.  Lyonnel  falls 
victim  of  new  dangers  through  the  wiles  of  the  cowardly  magician, 
Bruyant  Sans  Foy.  He  is  imprisoned,  along  with  several  other 
knights,  but  just  as  Bruyant  is  making  ready  to  murder  the  entire 
company,  they  are  rescued  by  friendly  knights  of  the  "Franc 


EARLY  SURVIVING  R01VL\NTIC  PLAYS  121 

Palais."^-  Blanche  is  pleased  to  redeem  her  promise  in  marriage 
by  the  same  ceremony  that  unites  Nerones  and  the  Chevalier  Dore."*^ 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  EngHsh  dramatist  has  transferred 
these  adventures  of  Lyonnel — with  slight  modifications — to  his 
Sir  Clamydes,  the  White  Knight,  making  them  serve  as  an  obstacle 
to  prevent  his  meeting  the  Knight  of  the  Golden  Shield  at  the  Court 
of  Alexander.  That  this  story,  rather  than  some  other  version  of 
the  Andromeda  legend,  was  his  original,  is  proved,  moreover,  not 
only  by  his  use  of  the  name  "Clamydes"  for  his  White  Knight, 
but  also  by  his  taking  over  the  character  '"Bruyant  Sansfoy." 
In  the  romance  the  role  of  Imposter  is  assigned  the  "faulx  cheva- 
her"  Harban.  The  dramatist  has  eliminated  Harban  and  given 
both  roles  to  Brian.  In  representing  Brian  as  a  coward  whose 
business  is  that  of  murdering  knights  whom  he  has  put  to  sleep 
by  magic,  the  dramatist  follows  the  romance  exactly.  Bruyant 
Sansfoy  is  a  descendant  of  the  enchanter  Darnant  who  filled  the 
land  with  terror  before  Alexander  came  to  Britian  with  Betis  and 
Gaddifer.  Betis,  at  great  peril,  penetrated  the  magic  forest  in  which 
Darnant  had  his  abode,  and  slew  him,  for  which  feat  he  was  chris- 
tened Perceforest,  King  of  Great  Britian,  by  Alexander,  who  also 
established  Gaddifer  as  King  of  Scotland.  These  two  royal  gen- 
tlemen become  the  fathers  of  the  Blanc  Chevalier  and  the  Cheva- 
lier Dore,  respectively.  It  was  not  to  be  expected,  therefore,  that 
Bruyant,  who  still  dwelled  in  the  Forest  of  Marvels,  should  enter- 
tain any  kindly  feelings  for  Perceforest  and  his  Knights  of  the 
Franc  Palais.  In  fact,  he  hated  them  bitterly,  but  being  a  coward, 
he  did  no  dare  to  meet  them  openly,  and  his  malignant  treachery 
had  won  him  the  title  of  Bruyant  "Sansfoy."'*^ 

For  the  incidents  of  his  plot,  then,  the  author  of  Clyomon  and 
Cla?nydes  is  wholly  indebted  to  the  romance  of  Perceforest,  except 
for  the  slight  modifications  made  here  and  there  to  accommodate 
the  action  to  the  conventional  comic  figure,  Subtle  Shift.  Often, 
too,  the  language  and  the  circumstancial  detail  of  the  original 
are  plainly  discernible  in  the  ranting  couplets  of  the  play,  as  will 

^  A  chivalric  association  founded  by  Perceforest,  and  corresponding  in  general 
to  the  Round  Table  of  King  Arthur. 

*^  Cf.  Vol.  IV,  chap.  1.  The  account  of  these  royal  weddings  is  highly  interesting 
from  the  standpoint  of  social  history. 

^  The  punishment  which  he  so  richly  deserves  comes  at  last  in  very  strange  fashion ; 
he  is  slain  by  an  infant  only  one  year  old,  posthimius  son  of  one  of  the  many  knights 
whom  he  had  murdered  in  their  sleep.     Cf.  Vol.  IV,  Chap.  14. 


122  ROMANTIC  DRA]M\  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

be  evident  from  a  comparison  of  certain  passages.  The  indebted- 
ness begins  apparently  with  the  prologue.  The  romance  seeks 
to  sharpen  the  intellectual  palates  of  its  readers  as  follows: 

" Vous  y  verrez,  O  Magnifiques  Seigneurs,  le  vaillant  Perceforest 
et  le  noble  Gaddifer  son  frere  instituez  roys  par  le  conquerour 
Alexandre  le  grant.  .  .  .  Vous  verrez  lordounance  du  franc 
palais,  ou  nestoit  laysible  a  cueur  recree  trouuer  addresse.  Vous 
verrez  douze  chevaliers  tous  fils  de  roys  venir  en  estat  priuue, 
dissimulans  leur  royalle  origine  pour  plus  a  liberte  exercer  chev- 
alerie.  Vous  leur  verrez  vouer  douze  veux,  le  moindre  plus  dif- 
ficle  que  les  douze  labeurs  du  grant  Hercules.  Vous  verrez  ceulx 
veux  acomplyz  et  mis  a  fin.  .  .  .  Vous  verrez  les  desduitz  de 
plusieurs  amans,  les  peines  martires  et  plaintifz  deulz  et  delleurs 
amyes.  Vous  verrez  les  incredibles  forces  des  enchantemens  dont 
se  couuroit  le  desloyal  Darnant  en  ses  forestz.  Vous  le  verrez 
suppediter  et  mettre  a  mort  par  le  victorieux  Perceforest.  .  .  . 
Vous  verrez  Bruyant  sans  foy  ennemy  des  chevaliers  du  franc 
palais  plusieures  foys  les  decevoir.  Et  a  la  parfin  le  verrez  vaincre 
et  mettre  a  mort  par  Passelyon  enfant  dung  an.  .  .  .  Brief  vous 
verrez  tant  de  merueilleuses  entreprinses,  guerres,  tournoys, 
adventures,  layz,  propheties,  detectables  propos,  chevaleureuses 
doctrines,  exemples  salutaires. " 

The  dramatist  is  much  less  specific,  but  the  similarity  in  matter 
and  the  parallelism  in  structure  are  hardly  accidental.     He  says: 

"As  lately  lifting  up  the  leaves  of  worthy  writers  workes, 
Wherein  the  noble  acts  and  deeds  of  many  hidden  lurks, 
Our  Author  he  hath  found  the  Glasse  of  glory  shining  bright, 
Wherein  their  lives  are  to  be  seen,  which  honour  did  delight. 
Wherein  the  froward  chances  oft,  of  Fortune  you  shall  see, 
Wherein  the  chearefull  countenance  of  good  successes  bee. 
Wherein  true  Lovers  findeth  joy,  with  hugie  heapes  of  care, 
Wherein  as  well  as  famous  facts,  ignomius  placed  are: 
Wherein  the  just  reward  of  both,  is  manifestly  showne. 
That  virtue  from  the  root  of  Vice,  might  openly  be  known, "  etc. 

Whatever  basis  of  comparison  is  chosen,  it  soon  becomes  evident 
that  the  Englishman  has  not  improved  his  borrowed  material. 
Indeed,  in  every  instance  the  change  from  the  simple  prose  to  the 
uncouth  metrics  is  accompanied  with  a  distinct  loss  in  force  and 
dignity.    Let  us  take,  for  example,  the  reported  meeting  of  the  two 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  123 

knights  after  the  interrupted  ceremonies  at  the  court  of  Perce- 
forest.     As  the  romance  has  it, — 

"Damp  Chevaher,  (dist  Bethides)  supplanteur  dautruy  hon- 
neur,  gardez  vous  de  moy  iouster  conuient.  Le  chevaher  dor 
respondit  courtoisement  et  dist.  Sire  chevaher,  amender  pouez 
vostre  parohe  sil  vous  plaist,  car  ie  ne  suis  supplanteur  dautruy 
honneur,  et  se  ie  me  suis  advaunce  pour  mon  honneur,  et  iay  receu 
la  colee  que  oncques  ne  fut  a  tort,  car  elle  estait  mienne.  .  .  . 
Sire  Chevalier,  dist  Bethides  arrestez  vous  tant  que  vous  me  ayez 
dit  vostre  nom.  Comment,  beau  sire,  dist  le  chevalier  dore,  qui 
estes  vous,  qui  mon  nom  voulez  scauoir.  Je  suis,  dist  Bethides, 
ung  chevaher  a  qui  vous  auez  fait  villennye,  et  vrayement  sil  fust 
heure  vous  lamendissiez.  .  .  .  Sire,  dist  le  chevaher  dore:  Se 
aucunement  vous  auoys  melTait  lamende  ne  seroit  pas  oultrageuse, 
mais  tant  veulx  que  vous  sachez  que  iay  voue  que  mon  nom  ne 
diray  a  chevaher  que  moy.  "'^^ 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  the  tone  of  dignified  courtesy 
here  used  is  changed  to  one  of  vulgar  raillery  when  the  incident 
is  transferred  to  the  drama: 

"Clamy.  Stay  thou  cowardly  knight, 

that  like  a  dastard  camst,  to  steal  away  my  right. 
Clyo.     What,  what,  you  raile  sir  prinkocks  Prince  me  coward 

for  to  call. 
Clamy.     Well  for  what  intent  camst  thou  my  honour  to  steal 

away? 
Clyo.     That  I  tooke  ought  from  thee,  I  utterly  denay. 
Clamy.     Didst  thou  not  take  the  honour  which  my  father 

to  me  gave? 
Clyo.     Of  that  thou  hadst  not,  I  could  thee  not  deprave. 
Clamy.     Didst  thou  not  take  away  my  Knighthood  from  me? 
Clyo.     No,  for  I  had  it  before  it  was  given  unto  thee. 

And  having  it  before  thee,  what  argument  canst  thou 

make. 
That  ever  from  thee  the  same  I  did  take? 
Clamy.     Well,  what  hight  they  name,  let  me  that  understand, 
And  wherefore  thou  travailedst  here  in  my  father's 

land 
So  boldly  to  attempt  in  his  court  such  a  thing? 

«  Vol.  II,  fol.  LSlb. 


124  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

Clyo.     The  bolder  the  attempt  is,  more  honour  doth  it  bring: 

But  what  my  name  is  desirest  thou  to  know? 
Clamy.     What  thy  name  is,   I  would  gladly  perstand: 
Clyo.     Nay,  that  shall  none  never  know,  unlesse  by  force  of 
hand 
He  vanquish  me  in  fight,  such  a  vow  I  have  made, 
And   therefore   to   combat  with  me,    thyself  do  per- 
swade, "  etc.**^ 

A  comparison  of  these  passages  shows  a  rather  close  corres- 
pondence between  them  in  the  minor  matters  of  detail,  with  a 
distinct  lowering  of  the  stately  pitch  in  passing  from  the  romance 
to  the  play,  and  this  may  be  said  to  be  the  case  throughout.  The 
way  in  which  the  narrative  matter  is  fitted  into  the  dramatic  mould 
is  perhaps  worth  one  more  illustration.  When  the  King  of  Norway 
learns  that  Nerones  has  eluded  him,  he  soHloquizes  thus: 

"Ha  Nerones  faulse  et  doubliere  qui  eust  cuyde  telle  subtillesse 
en  vous,  il  a  euidenment  appareu  en  vostre  fait  que  vous  sentez 
de  la  haulte  Bretaigne  ou  toutes  les  femmes  sont  enchantresses, 
.  .  .  il  nya  nul  remede  elle  ma  bien  trampe:  mais  se  iamais  ie  la 
puis  trouuer,  tout  lor  du  monde  ne  les  scauroit  garantir  de  mort." 
He  is  discovered  by  the  Chevafier  Dore,  who  cries, — "Ha  faulz 
et  desloyal  roy,  nas  tu  honte  de  fuyr  deuant  ung  seul  chevalier. 
Tu  as  disrobe  a  ta  malle  sante  la  pucelle  Nerones  en  son  hastel, 
et  au  gyron  de  son  pere  .  .  .  tu  mourras  ains  tu  meschappes. 
.  .  .  Faulx  traistre  et  mouuais  ravisser  de  pucelles,  le  jour  est 
venu  que  tu  rendras  compte  de  ta  trahison.  .  .  .  Le  roy  qui 
estoit  fort  et  puissant  et  qui  estoit  en  son  meilleur  aage  environ 
quarante  ans  .  .  .  print  la  parolle  en  disant.  Notre  maistre  qui 
nestes  que  une  pouppee  selon  vostre  aage  ou  auez  vous  prins  le 
hardement  de  moy  suyiur:  se  ieusse  cuyde  que  chevalier  de  tout 
petite  me  eust  chasse  .  .  .  si  te  demande  comme  a  celluy  qui 
est  deuenu  chevalier  deuant  son  term,  qui  tu  es,  et  se  tu  es  celluy 
qui  se  dit  lamoureux  de  Nerones.  Par  ma  foy  malheureux  roy 
respondit  le  chevalier  dore.  Je  suis  in  tout  honneur  seruiteur  a 
la  pucelle,  laquelle  le  dieu  souuerain  vueille  garder  ou  que  elle 
soit.  Se  te  diz  pour  toutes  choses  que  iamais  de  mes  mains  ne 
eschappesas  tant  que  ie  te  auray  mis  a  mort.""*^ 

« 11.  440-468.     The  remarks  of  Subtle  Shift  are  omitted. 
«Vol.  Ill,  fol.  92  a. 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  125 

In  the  drama  this  becomes,— 
''Thras.     Oh  subtill  Neronis,  how  hast  thou  me  vexed? 

Through  thy  crafty  deaUngs  how  am  I  perplexed? 
Did  ever  any  winne  a  dame,  and  lose  her  in  such  sort? 
The  maladies  are  marvellous,  the  which  I  do  support 
Through  her  deceit,  but  forth  I  will  my  company 

to  meet. 
If  ever  she  be  caught  againe,  I  will  her  so  intreate, 
That  others  all  shall  warning  take,  by  such  a  subtill 

dame, 
How  that  a  Prince  for  to  delude,  such  ingins  they 

do  frame. 
Enter  Clyomon  Knight  of  the  Golden  Shield 
Clyo.     Nay,  Traytour,  stay  and  take  with  thee  that  mortall 
blow  or  stroke 
The  which  shall  cause  thy  wretched  corps  this  life  for 

to  revoke. 
It  enjoyeth  me  at  the  hart  that  I  have  met  thee  m 
this  place. 
Thras.     What  varlet  darest  thou  be  so  bold,  with  words  m 
such  a  cace. 
For   to   upbraide   thy   Lord   and   King?     What   art 
thou  soone  declare? 
Clyo.     My  Lord  and  King,  I  thee  defie,  and  in  despite  I  dare 
Thee  for  to  say  thou  art  no  Prince,  for  thou  a  traytour 

art, 
And  what  reward  is  due  therefore,  to  thee  I  shall  impart. 
Thras.    Thou  braggest  all  to  boldly  still,  what  hight  thy  name 

expresse? 
Clyo.     What  hight  my  name  thou  shalt  not  know,  ne  will 
I  it  confess: 
But  for  that  thou  my  lady  stolest  from  fathers  court 

away. 
He   sure   revenge   that   trayterous   fact   upon   thyself 

this  day. 
Since  I  have  met  so  luckily  with  thee  here  all  alone, 
Although  as  I  do  understand,  from  thee  she  now  is  gone, 
Yet  therefore  do  defend  thyself,  for  here  I  thee  assaile, 
Thras.     Alas  poore  boy,  thinkest  thou  against  me  to  prevaile? 
Here  let  them  fight,  the  King  fall  downe  dead."'^ 

«11.  1351-75. 


126  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

From  these  illustrations  it  will  be  evident  that  the  French 
romance  of  chivalry  has  undergone  no  improvement  in  the  trans- 
formation into  English  heroic  drama.  The  contrary  is  in  fact  the 
case.  The  original  itself  promised  little  enough  in  the  way  of 
successful  dramatic  presentation,  and  the  employment  of  an 
absurdly  inappropriate  medium  of  expression  made  virtual  failure 
a  foregone  conclusion.  Certainly  to  this  more  than  to  any  other 
one  thing  is  due  the  impression  of  crudity.  But  his  material 
contained  possibilities  that  the  dramatist  evidently  did  not  recog- 
nize. Nor  is  the  fact  surprising.  In  obedience,  doubtless,  to  popu- 
lar demand,  he  seems  to  have  been  mainly  intent  on  preserving — 
and  heightening — the  screeching  heroics  of  his  original, — ranting 
soliloquies  and  contests  in  personal  abuse  carried  on  between  the 
leading  protagonists.  Whatever  is  incapable  of  adaptation  to 
the  vein  of  boistrous  melodrama  is  either  passed  over  in  silence 
or  else  so  blunted  and  dulled  in  the  presentation  that  its  original 
charm  is  quite  lost.  Out  of  much  that  is  irrational  and  extravagant 
in  the  romance  of  Perceforest,  the  dramatist  has  chosen  an  episode 
of  intrinsic  Hterary  merit, — the  love  story  of  Neronis  and  the 
Chevalier  Dore,  and  while  his  dramatic  version  is  not  without  a 
crude  interest,  it  fails  to  preserve  even  the  naive  simpHcity  of  the 
original.  The  mascuhne  disguise  of  Neronis  yields  only  melo- 
drama. It  would  be  highly  uncharitable  to  remind  the  reader 
of  Viola  and  Rosalind. 

It  should  also  be  noted  in  this  connection  that,  although  Neronis 
is  found  for  a  time  in  the  company  of  shepherds  and  meets  her 
knightly  lover  amid  country  scenes,  the  pastoral  element  in  its 
true  sense  is  wholly  lacking.  These  incidents  bring  no  breath  of 
sylvan  freshness,  but  become  simply  the  occasion  of  a  bit  of  unen- 
tertaining  clownage.  Corin  is  not  the  shepherd  of  poetic  imagina- 
tion, but  a  vulgar  yokel,  speaking  the  dialect  of  Hodge  and  Diccon 
the  Bedlam,  and  living  a  hfe  of  repulsive  immorality.  The  roman- 
tic blending  of  courtly  and  country  life,  so  happily  affected  by 
writers  like  Sidney  and  Greene,  was  still  absent  from  English 
comedy  when  Clyomon  and  Clamydes  was  written.  The  presence 
of  Corin  in  the  play  is  due  to  the  same  cause  that  begets  Subtle 
Shift, — the  carrying  on  of  earher  dramatic  tradition.  They  are 
the  conventional  figures  of  low  comedy,  as  are  the  similar  characters 
in  Camhyses,  Orestes,  Damon  and  Pithias,  and  Common  Conditions 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  127 

In  connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  source  of  Clyomon  and 
Clamydes,  it  might  be  well  to  add  that  certain  incongruities 
which  commentators  have  noted  in  the  setting  and  atmosphere 
of  the  play  are  perhaps  adequately  accounted  for  when  once  the 
source  is  known.  The  presence  of  Alexander  the  Great  as  the 
adjudicator  in  the  quarrels  between  the  princes  of  western  Europe, 
and  the  facility  with  which  the  action  shifts  back  and  forth  between 
Denmark,  Macedonia,  and  the  mythical  Kingdom  of  the  Strange 
Marches,  have  been  censured  as  working  havoc  with  both  space 
and  time,  to  say  nothing  of  the  violence  done  to  our  sense  of  his- 
torical relations.  Besides  this  meeting  of  the  east  and  west  in  the 
setting  and  in  the  dramatis  personae,  the  play  contains  other  sHghtly 
incongruous  elements.  The  enveloping  atmosphere  is  of  course 
that  of  feudalism  and  chivalry,  but  there  is  a  trifle  more  than  the 
impression  of  mere  habit  of  speech  in  the  frequent  allusions  to 
the  characters  of  Grecian  mythology.  The  Olympian  deities  are 
often  mentioned,  both  individually  and  collectively.  The  references 
to  fortune,  too,  as  the  controlling  power  in  human  destiny  are  still 
more  frequent.  Into  her  hands  the  characters  commit  themselves 
with  prayers  for  her  favor.  Upon  her  shoulders  they  place  the 
responsibility  of  their  acts  and  blame  her  for  the  results  which 
these  acts  have  caused.  In  consequence  the  matter  of  mediaeval 
romance  is  given  a  faintly  perceptible  classical  tinge. 

But  in  all  these  matters  the  author  of  the  play  is  only  following 
his  original.  The  presence  of  Alexander  and  the  other  marks  of 
eastern  affihation  are  derived  directly  from  the  romance  of  Perce- 
forest,  the  six  folio  volumes  of  which  were  conceived  as  a  sequel 
to  the  Voeux  du  Paon.  That  the  continuity  may  be  made  clear, 
a  full  abstract  of  the  Voeux  is  given  in  the  first  volume  of  Perce- 
forest.  The  romance  begins  with  the  meeting  of  Alexander  and 
Cassanius,  and  the  war  with  Claurus.  After  the  consummation 
of  the  marriages  which  were  arranged  in  the  Voeux  du  Paon — Gadifer 
and  Lydaine,  parents  of  the  ChevaHer  Dore,  and  Betis  and  Ydorus, 
parents  of  the  Blanc  Chevalier — in  company  with  Alexander,  they 
all  set  out  to  visit  the  temple  of  Venus,  but  a  supernatural  tempest 
drives  them  upon  the  shores  of  Great  Britain.  For  his  feat  in 
slaying  Darnant,  Betis  is  established  as  King  of  Great  Britain, 
with  the  name  of  Perceforest.  The  Kingdom  of  Scotland  is 
bestowed  upon  Gaddifer.  In  the  romance,  Alexander  does  not 
actually  participate  in  the  incidents  appropriated  by  the  author 


128  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

of  Clyomon  and  Clamydes,  but  he  is  taken  over  as  a  sort  of  super- 
hero, and  the  final  meeting  between  the  knights  is  set  to  take 
place  at  his  court  rather  than  at  the  Pine  of  Marvels,  as  provided 
in  the  original. 

The  historical  importance  of  Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes  in 
the  development  of  the  English  romantic  drama  depends  to  a 
great  extent  upon  the  date  of  its  composition,  and  of  this  we  can 
not  be  certain.  If,  as  seems  altogether  probable  from  internal 
evidence,  it  is  correctly  assigned  to  the  middle  or  late  seventies, 
then,  as  a  measure  of  the  degree  of  maturity  which  the  romantic 
species  had  attained  by  that  time,  and  as  an  exemplar,  presumably, 
of  the  large  number  of  plays  upon  similar  themes  which  are  known 
to  have  been  produced  during  this  decade  but  which  have  not 
been  preserved,  it  is  of  tremendous  importance  historically,  for  it 
shares  with  Common  Conditions  alone  the  distinction  of  being  the 
representative  of  its  period  and  type.  As  measuring  the  approach 
to  the  artistic  drama,  we  find  the  attempt,  with  the  handicap  of  a 
crude  and  unwieldly  verse-form,  to  present  seriously  and  with  the 
single  end  of  giving  pleasure,  a  story  of  love  and  adventure  delib- 
erately chosen  from  a  romantic  source.  The  love  element,  though 
prominent  and  treated  with  seriousness  and  dignity,  is  nevertheless 
somewhat  cold  and  perfunctory,  depending  for  its  romantic  appeal 
upon  the  external  and  the  incidental  rather  than  inner  psychological 
probability.  The  assuming  of  male  disguise  by  the  heroine — - 
probably  the  earliest  appearance  of  this  popular  motive  in  Eliza- 
bethan drama — is  not  wholly  ineffective,  though  unfortunately 
for  itself,  it  suggests  comparison  with  similar  situations  devised 
by  Shakespeare,  the  exquisite  charm  of  which  makes  us  all  the  more 
intolerant  of  heavy-handed  bungling.  Of  characterization  in  the 
strict  sense,  there  is  none  in  the  play,  and  whatever  interest  it  is 
able  to  command  must  grow  wholly  out  of  the  incidents  of  its 
plot.  The  two  titular  heroes  themselves  are  without  even  the  sha- 
dow of  individuality,  or  internal  trait  by  which  they  may  be  dis- 
tinguished from  each  other.  The  fideUty  with  which  the  author 
of  the  play  adhered  to  his  original  source  makes  it  superfluous  to 
speak  of  his  power  over  his  material.  His  one  bit  of  initiative 
consisted  in  transferring  the  Andromeda  legend  from  a  different 
part  of  the  romance  and  engrafting  it  on  to  his  principal  story. 
Everywhere  else — except  in  the  names,  some  of  which  he  seems 
to  have  invented — he  is  wholly  dependent  upon  his  original.     But 


EARLY  SURVIVING  ROMANTIC  PLAYS  129 

in  spite  of  its  extravagant  subject-matter  and  crude  style,  if  its 
tortured  language  and  versification  may  be  so  called,  Clyomon  and 
Clamydcs  is  deserving  of  respectful  attention  from  the  student  of 
Elizabethan  drama.  Historically,  if  not  intrinsically,  its  claim  to 
distinction  is  well  founded. 


CHAPTER  V 
The  Early  Romantic  Drama  In  Contempor.\ry  Criticism 

One  of  the  most  striking  anomalies  in  the  history  of  English 
literature  is  the  attitude  of  open  hostility  or  contemptuous  neglect 
which  contemporary  criticism  assumed  toward  the  Elizabethan 
romantic  drama.  What  the  well-nigh  unanimous  verdict  of  all 
later  times  has  pronounced  the  magnum  opus  of  the  English  Renais- 
sance found  no  sponsor  among  the  critics  of  its  own  age.  With 
the  public,  to  be  sure,  it  was  taken,  even  in  its  crude  beginnings, 
into  immediate  and  enduring  favor,  but  among  the  judicious 
it  received,  at  the  most,  only  the  apologetic  approval  as  a  thing 
beloved  of  the  crowd.  The  mere  conflict  between  critical  pro- 
nouncements and  popular  taste  is  of  course  not  surprising.  Many 
parallels  will  at  once  occur  to  every  one  who  reflects  for  a  moment 
upon  the  history  of  criticism.  But  that  an  age  which  was  so  dis- 
tinctly romantic  in  spirit  should  have  given  no  sort  of  critical 
justilication  to  an  art-form  which  it  brought  to  perfection,  is  an 
instance  of  critical  perversity  for  which  the  history  of  literature 
scarcely  contains  a  parallel. 

The  explanation  of  course  lies  in  the  fact  that  formal  and  even 
incidental  criticism  in  Engand  began  in  complete  subservience  to 
classical  standards.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  importation  pure  and  sim- 
ple. The  sources  from  which  Elizabethan  creative  literature 
drew  its  inspiration  were,  on  the  other  hand,  as  various  as  the 
diverse  influences  which  moulded  the  English  Renaissance.  It 
was  inevitable,  therefore,  that  this  literature  should  come  into 
sharp  and  frequent  conflict  with  the  rigid  principles  of  classical 
criticism.  The  drama  in  particular  was  the  form  for  which  classicism 
had  established  fixed  conventions;  and  it  was  with  respect  to  the 
drama  that  English  classicists  adopted  the  most  uncompromising 
attitude.  For  both  comedy  and  tragedy,  the  pathway  which 
English  dramatists  should  follow  was  too  plain  to  be  missed. 
The  theory  of  Aristotle,  with  the  example  of  Seneca,  Plautus,  and 
Terence,  left  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  what  constituted  sound  dra- 
matic practice.  The  criteria  thus  adduced  were  accepted  as  a 
matter  of  course  by  all  upon  whom  the  light  of  scholarship  had 
shed  its  illuminating  rays.     Ralph  Roister  Doister  and  Gammer 


EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  IN  CONTEMPORARY  CRITICISM      131 

Gurton's  Needle  are  the  results  of  their  application  in  the  domain  of 
school  comedy;  while  Gorboduc  and  Jocasta  are  less  perfect  exam- 
ples of  the  same  principles  applied  to  tragedy. 

But  side  by  side  with  this  child  of  aristocratic  lineage,  there 
was  growing  up  another  youngster,  uncouth  but  vigorous,  upon 
whom  the  disparaging  glances  of  schoolmasters  and  scholarly  critics 
made  very  Httle  impression.  For  notwithstanding  the  favor  shown  it 
at  Court,  the  Elizabethan  romantic  drama  was  in  a  Hteral  sense  a 
child  of  the  people;  and,  having  none  of  the  traditions  of  respectabil- 
ity to  preserve,  it  enjoyed  in  consequence  a  natural  and  untrammel- 
led development.  Like  most  things  of  common  origin,  its  early 
history  is  shrouded  in  obscurity.  Its  primitive  examples  were  sel- 
dom regarded  as  worthy  of  preservation  even  by  its  friends;  and, 
as  has  been  said,  the  period  of  its  greatest  brilHancy  raised  up  for  it 
almost  no  defenders  among  those  whose  tastes  were  regarded  as 
having  been  properly  formed.  As  a  result,  we  are  compelled  to  de- 
pend largely  upon  the  sneering  references  of  hostile  critics  for  our 
knowledge  of  it  during  the  formative  stages  of  its  existence.  Even 
such  purely  incidental  remarks  are  few  and  meager.  It  was  gener- 
ally regarded  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  criticism,  and  is  usually  men- 
tioned as  an  instance  of  the  barbarity  of  popular  taste.  For  many 
years  it  was  silently  ignored  by  the  advocates  of  the  classical  drama, 
who  contented  themselves  merely  by  producing  in  the  vernacular 
and  in  Latin  examples  written  in  accordance  with  accepted  classical 
principles. 

The  earhest  recorded  attack  upon  the  romantic  drama  for 
its  artistic  shortcomings  is  that  made  by  George  Whetstone  in  the 
preface  to  his  Promos  and  Cassandra,  published  in  1578.  Whet- 
stone, it  will  be  remembered,  was  thoroughly  committed  to  the 
doctrine  that  the  drama  should  not  forego  its  splendid  opportunity 
of  teaching  a  lesson.  At  a  time  when  the  "defenders"  of  poetry 
were  marshalling  their  resources  to  repel  the  Puritan  onslaught, 
any  preface  that  rested  its  case  upon  the  modest  plea  of  poetry 
for  its  own  sake  would  have  been  regarded  with  suspicion  even  in 
the  camp  of  its  friends.  Whetstone  is  at  pains,  therefore,  to  show 
that  Promos  and  Cassandra  can  justify  its  existence  on  the  score 
of  social  utility;  and  as  a  moralist  he  takes  a  fling  at  the  contem- 
porary dramatists  of  Italy,  France,  and  Spain,  who,  he  alleges, 
are  "so  lascivious  in  their  comedies  that  honest  hearers  are  grieved 
at  their  actions."     As  an  artist,  however,  he  protests  against  the 


132  ROMANTIC  DRA]iL\  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

dull  sermonizing  of  the  German  playwrights.  But  the  Englishman 
is  more  culpable  than  any  of  his  continental  brethren,  since  he 
offends  against  both  moral  and  artistic  propriety;  and  in  pronounc- 
ing his  censure,  Whetstone  is  speaking  strictly  as  a  classicist  who 
has  been  disgusted  with  the  absurdities  of  the  romantic  drama. 
The  EngHshman's  fault  he  declares  to  be  fundamental, — his  "qual- 
ity," wherein  he  is  "most  vaine,  indiscreet  and  out  of  order." 
The  sum  of  the  charges  which  Whetstone  brings  against  the  roman- 
tic dramatist  in  the  exercise  of  unwarranted  liberties  is  that  he 
has  had  no  regard  whatever  for  the  so-called  classical  unities.  He 
has  crowded  the  lives  and  actions  of  two  generations  into  the  space 
of  three  hours,  and  in  the  same  brief  period  he  has  "run  through 
the  world,"  bringing  gods  from  heaven  and  devils  from  hell.  With 
all  these  sins  to  answer  for,  he  has  offended  still  further  by  vio- 
lating the  sacred  principle  of  decorum,  and,  for  the  sake  of  vulgar 
laughter,  has  made  a  clown  companion  to  a  king,  using  one  order 
of  speech  for  all  persons. 

The  interest  of  Whetstone's  preface  is  not  that  it  announces  any 
new  principle.  In  insisting  that  Englishmen  follow  the  formal 
example  of  the  classics,  he  is  only  repeating  what  the  humanists  had 
advocated  from  the  beginning  Equally  familiar  also  is  his  demand 
that  the  drama  justify  its  existence  on  other  than  purely  artistic 
grounds.  But  in  attacking  existing  evils,  he  writes  a  little  chapter 
in  the  history  of  the  romantic  drama  at  a  period  when  contempo- 
rary records  are  either  silent  or  else  too  meager  to  afford  a  satis- 
factory account. 

The  same  is  true  in  an  even  greater  degree  of  the  famous  attack 
of  Sir  Philip  Sidney  in  the  Defense  of  Poesy.  Though  becoming 
somewhat  hackneyed  by  repeated  quotation,  this  celebrated  passage 
has  lost  none  of  its  importance  to  the  historian  of  the  early  EngUsh 
drama,  and  may  not  improperly  be  subjected  to  one  more  repro- 
duction. After  decrying  the  violation  of  the  unities  of  time  and 
place  in  even  so  good  a  play  as  Gorbodiic,  he  continues:  "But  if 
it  is  so  in  Gorboduc,  how  much  more  in  all  the  rest?  Where  you 
shall  have  Asia  of  the  one  side  and  Afric  of  the  other,  and  so  many 
other  kingdoms  that  the  player,  when  he  comes  in,  must  ever  begin 
by  telling  where  he  is,  else  the  tale  will  not  be  conceived.  Now 
shall  you  have  three  ladies  walk  to  gather  flowers,  and  then  we 
must  believe  the  stage  to  be  a  garden.  By  and  by  we  hear  news 
of  a  shipwreck  in  the  same  place,  and  then  we  are  to  blame  if  we 


EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  IN  CONTEMPORARY  CRITICISM         133 

accept  it  not  for  a  rock.  Upon  the  back  of  that  comes  out  a  hideous 
monster  with  fire  and  smoke,  and  then  the  miserable  beholders 
are  bound  to  take  it  for  a  cave;  while  in  the  meantime  two  armies 
fly  in  represented  by  four  swords  and  bucklers,  and  then  what  hard 
heart  will  not  take  it  for  a  pitched  field? 

"Now  of  time  they  are  much  more  liberal,  for  ordinary  it 
is  that  two  young  princes  fall  in  love;  after  many  traverses  she  is 
got  with  child;  delivered  of  a  fair  boy;  he  is  lost,  groweth  a  man, 
and  is  ready  to  get  another  child,  and  all  this  within  two  hours 
space;  which,  how  absurd  it  is  in  sense,  even  sense  may  imagine. 
Lastly,  if  they  will  represent  a  history,  they  must  not,  as  Horace 
saieth,  begin  "ab  ovo,"  but  they  must  come  to  the  principle  point 
of  that  one  action  which  they  will  represent.   .    .   . 

"But  besides  these  gross  absurdities,  how  all  their  plays  be 
neither  right  tragedies  nor  right  comedies,  mingling  kings  and 
clowns,  not  because  the  matter  so  carrieth  it,  but  thrust  in  the 
clown  by  the  head  and  shoulders,  to  play  a  part  in  majestical  mat- 
ters, with  neither  decency  nor  discretion;  so  as  neither  the  admira- 
tion and  commiseration,  nor  the  right  sportfulness,  is  by  their 
mongrel  tragicomedies  obtained.  I  know  Apulius  did  somewhat  so 
but  that  is  a  thing  recounted  with  space  of  time,  not  represented 
in  one  moment :  and  I  know  the  ancients  have  one  or  two  examples 
of  tragicomedies,  as  Plautus  hath  Amphytrio.  But,  if  we  mark 
them  well,  we  shall  find  that  they  never,  or  very  daintily,  match 
hornpipes  and  funerals."^ 

Taking  this  unsympathetic  characterization  in  connection 
with  Whetstone's  preface,  and  making  the  necessary  allowance  in 
each  case  for  the  classical  prejudice  of  the  writer,  we  are  able  to 
draw  certain  dependable  inferences  regarding  the  extensive  body  of 
romantic  drama  wliich  is  known  to  have  been  produced  during  the 
first  twenty-five  years  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but  of  which  we 
have  not  much  more  than  the  titles  remaining.  Of  its  crudity  and 
extravagance,  we  may  be  quite  certain,  even  after  allowing  gener- 
ously for  the  animus  of  Whetstone  and  Sydney.  We  see  in  their 
strictures  the  embryonic  species  struggling  to  be  born;  the  per- 
plexity of  the  dramatist  in  his  failure  to  discriminate  between 
matter  that  is  essentially  narrative,  and  that  which  may  be  made 
to  serve  the  purposes  of  the  drama;  his  inability  to  begin  otherwise 
than  "ab  ovo,"  and  his  imperfect  success  in  trying  to  bring  within 

1  "Defense  of  Poesy,"  G.  Gregory  Smith,  Elizabethan  Critical  Essays,  1,  59-60. 


134         ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

working  compass  the  unwieldy  materials  of  heroic  romance;  and, 
most  clearly  of  all,  perhaps,  his  readiness  still  further  to  encumber 
himself  with  unassimilated  matter  from  the  morality  and  from 
popular  farce.  A  conglomeration  of  horse-play  and  rude  melodrama 
must  have  been  the  usual  result.  Such  survivals  as  have  reached 
us  from  this  and  the  period  immediately  preceding  that  in  which 
Sidney  was  writing  gave  little  promise  of  the  splendid  transforma- 
tion which  the  despised  form  was  to  undergo  before  the  end  of  the 
century;  among  them,  however,  we  fancy  that  we  recognize  some 
of  the  particular  atrocities  which  moved  the  critic  to  scorn.  In 
his  sarcastic  sketch  of  the  lives  of  two  generations  of  romance 
heroes  Sidney  must  have  been  thinking  of  Amadis,  beloved  of  Don 
Quixote;  but  while  episodes  of  the  cycle  had  furnished  the  subject- 
matter  for  court  plays  on  at  least  two  different  occasions,  a  longi- 
tudinal treatment,  such  as  Sidney's  words  would  seem  to  imply, 
is  not  indicated  by  existing  records.  But  the  number  and  charac- 
ter of  such  plays  that  may  have  found  their  way  upon  the  popular 
stage,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  It  seems  certain  that  they 
were  more  numerous  than  has  generally  been  supposed.  We  are 
not  to  infer,  however,  that  it  was  merely  the  entertainments  of 
the  unlettered  public  against  which  Sidney  is  directing  critical 
shafts.  The  few  surviving  members  of  the  class, — such  plays  as 
Damon  and  Pythias,  Sir  Clyomojt  and  Sir  Clamydes,  and  Common 
Conditions,  two  of  which  are  known  to  have  been  presented  before 
the  Queen, — are  full  of  the  very  excesses  of  which  he  complains. 
Dragons  and  monsters,  with  the  accompanying  pyrotechnics, 
found  their  way  into  the  most  aristocratic  circles.  In  the  Revels 
accounts  for  1572-3,  among  the  properties  employed  for  "setting 
foorth  sundry  playes  .  .  .  with  other  sportes  and  pastymes  for 
her  Majesties  recreation  in  Christmas  and  Shrovetide  at  Hampton 
Coorte  and  Green witche, "  there  is  an  entry  for  a  monster  costing 
twenty  shillings.'^  Again  in  the  expense  accounts  for  the  ofitice  of 
the  Revels  from  November  1,  1581  to  October  31,  1582— the  very 
period  at  which  Sidney  was  writing — we  find  the  entry:  "To  John 
rose  for  a  mount  with  a  castell  upon  the  top,  a  dragon  and  an 
artificial  tree  .  .  .  £C.  To  him  for  an  artificial  Lyon  and  a  horse 
made  of  wood  .  .  .  £VI."''  Elsewhere  for  the  same  period  we 
read:  "The  mount,  the  dragon  with  the  fyer  works,  Castell  with 

"  Feuillerat,  Documeiils  rdating  to  the  Office  of  the  Revels,  p.   175. 
■'  Ibid.  p.  345. 


EARLY  ROMANTIC  DR.\MA  IN  CONTEMPORARY  CRITICISM         135 

the  falling  sydes,  Tree  with  shields,  hermitage  and  hermit,  Savages, 
Enchanter,  Charryott,  and  incydents  to  to  these  .  .  .  CCm."* 
These  properties  were  used  in  a  play  of  which  we  do  not  know  the 
name,  but  there  is  no  mistaking  the  awe-inspiring  parapherneHa 
of  mediaeval  romance.  And  it  is  the  substitution  of  classic  sim- 
pHcity  and  rationalism  for  such  Gothic  splendors  and  terrors  that 
Sidney  and  Whetstone  are  contending. 

These  appear  to  be  the  sole  instances  in  contemporary  criti- 
cism in  which  the  rising  romantic  drama  is  attacked  for  its  artis- 
tic short-comings.  Other  assailants  there  are,  to  be  sure,  bitter 
and  uncompromising,  but  their  hostihty  proceeds  from  a  different 
motive.  They  are  the  Puritan  moralists,  inheritors  of  a  tradition 
of  hostihty  toward  the  drama  which  proceeds  in  direct  Une  from 
Chrysostom  and  Anastasius.  The  inexorable  logic  of  the  more 
extreme  members  of  this  party  is  typically  expressed  by  Stubbs : 
All  plays  are  either  of  div'ne  or  profane  matter.  If  divine,  they 
are  superfluous,  because  men  have  the  Bible;  they  are  sacriH- 
gious,  because  the  word  of  God  is  to  be  handled  reverently,  gravely, 
sagely.  But  if  they  are  of  profane  matter,  they  are  intolerable, 
for  they  tend  to  the  dishonor  of  God  and  the  nourishing  of  vice.^ 
There  is,  however,  nothing  unique  either  in  the  contention  or  in 
the  point  of  view  of  the  sixteenth  century  Puritan  assailants  of  the 
drama.  Nash  describes  their  position  not  inaccurately  when  he 
says  of  them,  "These  men  inveigh  against  no  new  vice  which  here- 
tofore by  the  censure  of  the  learned  hath  not  been  sharply  condem- 
ned, but  teare  that  peicemealwise  which  long  since  by  ancient  writers 
was  wounded  to  the  death,  "t^  The  Puritan  attacks,  however, 
which  speedily  grew  in  violence  and  frequency  with  the  appearance 
of  the  public  theaters  and  the  rapid  rise  of  the  drama  in  popular 
favor,  are  infinitely  rich  in  matter  pertaining  to  social  and  hterary 
history.  The  vigorous  popular  drama,  whose  existence  before  this 
time  is  largely  conjectural,  begins  to  be  indistinctly  seen  through 
the  mists  and  fogs  of  controversy. 

The  critics  in  this  instance  are  looking  at  the  drama  not  from 
the  artistic,  but  from  the  moral  point  of  view.  They  say  very 
Uttle  from  which  we  may  draw  conclusions  touching  the  progress 

^Feuillerat,  p.  345. 

«  Philip  Stubbs,  The  Anatomic  of  Abuses,  New  Shak.  Soc.  Series  VI,  4,  6,  Part  1, 
p.  140. 

*T.  Nash,  "Anatomic  of  Absurditie, "  Smith,  Elizabethan  Crit.  Essays,  I,  325. 


136         ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

that  was  being  made  in  the  evolution  of  an  artistic  popular  drama. 
But  in  their  arraignment  of  the  theater  for  its  alleged  immorality 
they  make  it  clear  that  the  great  body  of  this  popular  drama  was 
romantic  in  theme,  and,  we  may  very  safely  assume,  unclassical 
in  technique  as  well.  Stephen  Gosson,  in  the  second  of  his  series 
of  controversial  pamphlets,  "Plays  Confuted  in  Five  Actions" 
(c.  1581),  informs  us  specifically  as  to  what  its  sources  were.  "I 
may  bo'dly  say  it,"  he  declares  in  the  oft-quoted  passage,  "that 
the  Palace  of  Pleasure,  The  Golden  Ass,  The  Ethiopian  History, 
Amadis  of  France,  The  Round  Table,  and  bawdy  comedies  in  Latin, 
French,  Spanish,  and  Italian  have  been  ransacked  to  furnish  the 
play  houses  of  London."  This  list  contains  representatives  of 
every  important  source  of  romantic  material  save  one, — the  Span- 
ish pastoral  romance,  whose  vogue  was  even  then  beginning.  Blen- 
ded with  the  materials  and  atmosphere  of  Greek  romance,  it  formed 
in  the  works  of  Sidney  and  Greene  the  literary  fashion  that  fol- 
lowed hard  upon  the  heels  of  Euphuism,  and  left  many  traces  upon 
the  drama  written  around  the  end  of  the  century.  From  Gosson's 
remarks,  we  know  that  the  generation  immediately  preceding 
Shakespeare  had  discovered  the  rich  quarry  of  dramatic  material 
afforded  by  the  ItaUan  novelle,  which  had  reached  England  first 
as  the  single  verse  tale  and  later  in  Painter's  Palace  of  Pleasure 
and  similar  collections.  The  "Romeus  and  Juliet"  which  Arthur 
Brooke  testifies  to  having  seen  upon  the  stage  (c.  1561)  is  an  early 
instance  of  the  utihzation  of  this  material  for  dramatic  purposes. 
Elsewhere  in  Gosson's  tract  the  plays  derived  from  heroic  romance 
are  singled  out  for  disparaging  allusion.  "  Sometimes  you  shall  see 
nothing,"  he  says,  "but  the  adventures  of  an  amorous  knight 
passing  from  country  to  country  for  the  love  of  his  lady,  encounter- 
ing many  a  terrible  monster  made  of  brown  paper,  and  at  his  return 
so  wonderfully  changed  he  could  be  known  but  by  some  posy  in 
his  tablet,  or  by  a  broken  ring  or  a  handkerchief,  or  a  piece  of 
cockle  shell."  Various  entries  in  the  account  books  of  the  Revels 
ofiice  come  into  our  minds  at  the  mention  of  monsters  made  of 
brown  paper.  The  t}pe  of  play  here  suggested, — of  which  the 
surviving  Sir  Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes  is  probably  a  fair  exam- 
ple,— was  doubtless  a  favorite  with  popular  audiences ;  and  we  have 
evidence  in  Henslowe's  Diary  that  their  vogue  continued  until  the 
end  of  the  century. 


EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  IN  CONTEMPORARY  CRITICISM         137 

As  a  university  man  and  a  former  play-wright,  Gosson's  Puri- 
tan prejudices  were  probably  intensified  by  something  of  the 
artist's  contempt  for  these  formless  productions.  Certainly  it 
is  the  wretched  technique  of  the  contemporary  history  play  that 
called  forth  the  following  comment:  "If  a  true  history  be  taken 
in  hand,  it  is  made  like  our  shadows,  largest  at  the  rising  and 
falling  of  the  sun,  shortest  of  all  at  high  noon.  For  the  poets  drive 
it  most  commonly  into  such  points  as  may  best  show  the  majesty 
of  their  pens  in  tragical  speeches;  or  set  their  hearers  agog  with 
scoffs  and  taunts;  or  wring  in  a  show  to  furnish  forth  the  stage 
when  it  is  too  bare."  This  bit  of  criticism  derives  additional 
interest  from  the  fact  that  it  is  purely  gratuitous, — a  remark  by 
the  way  upon  a  feature  and  a  species  of  the  drama  which  we  would 
suppose  to  have  been  least  objectionable  to  Gosson.  For  it  will 
be  remembered  that  he  was  not  of  those  extremists  who  objected 
to  the  theater  per  se.  In  the  School  of  Abuse  he  conceded  that 
there  are  "good  plays  and  sweet  plays" — plays  worthy  even  to  be 
"sung  of  the  muses."  When  he  stops  thus  in  the  midst  of  his 
polemic  to  point  out  the  faults  in  the  dramatic  methods  pursued 
by  his  opponents,  we  are  inclined  to  attach  all  the  more  signifi- 
cance to  his  criticism.  His  words  suggest  also  that  the  mongrel 
type  produced  by  the  blending  of  history  and  romance,  as  illus- 
trated in  Edward  III  and  Greene's  James  IV,  where  the  poet  stops 
amid  war-like  speeches  to  "set  his  hearers  agog  with  discourses  of 
love,"  were  known  even  in  the  early  "eighties."  The  criticism 
that  writers  of  chronicle  plays  direct  their  themes  so  as  to  "show 
the  majesty  of  their  pens  in  tragical  speeches"  suggests  the  bom- 
bast of  Locrine  and  Selimus;  while  their  readiness  to  leave  the 
historical  matter  and  "paint  a  few  antics  to  fit  their  own  humours" 
might  be  aptly  illustrated  in  the  excessive  clownage  of  The  Famous 
Victories  of  Henry  V.  Indeed  all  that  Gosson  says  on  this  head 
applies  very  forcibly  to  our  earhest  extant  chronicle  plays,  though, 
so  far  as  we  know,  none  of  them  had  been  produced  at  the  time  he 
was  writing.  The  conclusion  is  that  they  have  preserved  the 
general  characteristics  of  even  cruder  examples  of  the  same  type 
which  went  before  them. 

The  subject-matter  of  the  young  romantic  drama  can  be  easily 
seen  as  the  chief  support  for  the  charge  of  gross  and  flagrant  immor- 
ality which  the  Puritan  reformers  brought  against  the  English 
theater.     Thus,  when  Stubbs,  in  the  Anatomie  of  Abuses,  declares 


138  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

that,  "Of  Comedies  the  matter  and  ground  is  love,  bawdrie,  cosen- 
age,  flattery,  whoredome,  adultrie,"  and  that  "the  Persons,  or 
agents,  are  whores,  queanes,  bawds,  scullions,  knaves,  curtezans, 
lecherous  old  men  and  amorous  young  men,"^  etc.,  we  perceive 
that  he  is  transferring  to  the  drama  the  sentiments,  and  some- 
thing of  the  language,  which  Ascham  had  expressed  some  years 
earUer  concerning  the  whole  body  of  romantic  literature,  whether 
of  mediaeval  romance  or  later  Italian  novella.  It  was  probably 
the  romantic  ccanedy  of  intrigue  that  Stubbs  had  particularly 
in  mind  in  this  denunciation, — the  "bawdie  comedies  in  Latin, 
French,  Spanish,  and  Itahan,"  which  Gosson  declared  had  been 
"ransacked  to  furnish  forth  the  English  stage."  English  adap- 
tations of  this  genre  begin  with  Calisto  and  Melihea,  which  came  from 
the  press  of  John  Rastell  when  the  century  was  still  young.  The 
Bugbears  {\56\),  a  translation  of  Grazzini's  La  Spirita,  Gascoigne's 
more  famous  adaptation  of  Ariosto,  The  Supposes,  and  Mun- 
day's  Two  Italian  Gentlemen,  are  the  extant  representatives  of 
Italy's  contribution  to  this  species  of  romantic  drama.  There 
were  also  several  translations  from  Italian  into  Latin  for  perfor- 
mance upon  the  English  university  stage.  Gosson's  own  Captain 
Mario,  described  as  a  "cast  of  ItaHan  devices,"  may  have  been 
of  the  same  affiliation,  while  the  Frederick  and  Basilea,  which 
exists  in  "platte"  among  the  papers  of  Edward  Alleyn,  probably 
belonged  to  the  species  knovv^n  as  the  commedia  delVarte,  in  which 
a  story  was  acted  by  means  of  improvised  dialogue.  Several  lost 
court  plays  of  the  period  were  very  probably  adaptations  of  Italian 
dramatic  originals.  When  we  add  to  these  the  direct  dramati- 
zation of  the  work  of  the  Italian  novelists,  we  see  that  the  number  of 
romantic  plays  founded  upon  the  various  motives  of  intrigue  must 
have  been  considerable;  and  there  is  small  wonder,  on  the  whole, 
that  they  should  have  aroused  the  bitterest  hostility  of  the  Puri- 
tans. The  less  tolerant  replied  with  mockery  and  derision  when 
it  was  urged  that  the  stage  might  be  turned  to  good  account  in 
instructing  men  in  matters  of  conduct  and  right  living.  Hear 
Stubbs  on  the  subject  of  the  ethical  instruction  to  be  obtained 
at  the  theater:  "If  you  will  learne  falsehood;  if  you  will  learne 
cosenage;  if  you  will  learne  to  deceive;  if  you  will  learne  to  play 
the  Hipocrit,  to  cogge,  lye,  and  falsify;  if  you  will  learne  to  play 
the  vice;  to  swear,  teare,  and  blaspheme  both  Heaven  and  Earth: 

''  Anatomie  of  Abuses,  New  Shak.  Soc,  Series  VI,  4,  6,  Part  1,  p.  143. 


EARLY  ROMANTIC  DRAMA  IN  CONTEMPORARY  CRITICISM         139 

If  you  will  learne  to  become  a  bawd,  uncleane,  and  to  devirginate 
Mayds,  and  to  deflower  honest  Wyves;  if  you  will  learne  to  mur- 
ther,  flaye,  kill,  picke,  steal,  robbe  and  rove:  If  you  will  learne 
to  rebel  against  Princes,  to  commit  treasons,  to  consume  trea- 
sures, to  practise  Ydleness,  to  sing  and  talke  of  bawdie  love 
and  venery;  if  you  will  learne  to  deride,  scoffe,  mock  and 
flowt,  to  flatter  and  smooth;  if  you  will  learn  to  play  the  whore- 
maister,  the  glutton.  Drunkard  or  incestuous  person:  if  you 
will  learn  to  become  proude,  hawtie,  and  arrogant;  and,  finally, 
if  you  will  lerne  to  condemn  God  and  all  his  laws,  to  care  neither 
for  heaven  nor  hel,  and  to  commit  all  kind  of  sin  and  mischief, 
you  need  go  to  no  other  school."^ 

The  foregoing  passages  are  typical  of  the  references  to  the  early 
romantic  drama,  both  in  criticism  proper,  and  in  the  Puritan 
attacks.  As  actual  historical  data,  they  leave  much  to  be  desired; 
yet  in  the  present  state  of  our  information  they  are  invaluable  to 
the  student  of  the  early  drama.  The  one  incontrovertible  fact 
that  shines  through  them  is,  that  upon  the  romantic  drama  in 
particular  were  heaped  the  contempt  and  ridicule  of  the  classi- 
cal critics  and  the  most  virulent  abuse  of  the  Puritan  reformers. 
But  other  matters  of  particular  significance  are  present  by  impli- 
cation. From  this  welter  of  vituperation  and  ridcule  the  fol- 
lowing inferences  may  be  safely  drawn: 

1.  That  by  1580,  the  body  of  dramatic  Uterature  upon  roman- 
tic themes  was  much  larger  than  the  number  of  surviving  plays 
and  the  evidence  of  contemporary  records  would  seem  to  indicate. 

2.  That  these  plays  were  called  into  being,  for  the  most  part, 
to  meet  the  demands  of  popular  audiences. 

3.  That  the  various  sources  of  romantic  literature  had  been 
drawn  upon  for  this  material,  and  that  the  several  types  of  roman- 
tic drama  were  already  familiar. 

4.  That  the  heroic  play,  founded  upon  the  mediaeval  romance 
of  adventure,  was  a  favorite,  especially  with  popular  audiences. 

5.  That  judged  from  a  technical  and  Uterary  point  of  view, 
these  plays  were,  as  a  rule,  of  a  low  order  of  merit,  having  but 
sUght  regard  for  the  boundary  line  between  comedy  and  tragedy, 
and  catering  to  the  public  taste  with  liberal  admixtures  of  popular 
farce  and  sensational  melodrama. 

*  Anatomie  of  Abuses,  p.  145. 


140  ROMANTIC  DIL\MA  AT  THE  ENGLISH  COURT 

We  have  said  that  the  hostile  attitude  assumed  toward  the 
Enghsh  romantic  drama  by  the  exponents  of  classical  culture  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  classical  drama  and  the  classic  theory 
of  dramatic  art  had  been  favorite  subjects  of  study  among  the 
English  humanists  from  an  early  day.  The  rules  and  principles 
of  Aristotle,  with  the  additions  which  they  received  at  the  hands 
of  the  sixteenth  century  humanists,  were  thoroughly  known  and 
greatly  revered.  Such  shameless  monstrosities,  therefore,  as  the 
nondescript  tragicomedies,  which  in  three  hours'  time  "ran  through 
the  world  "  and  encompassed  the  whole  hfe  of  man — which  belonged 
to  no  category  and  recognized  no  law — were  unfit  even  for  the  gross 
appetites  of  the  rabble.  Such  unquestionably  is  the  import  of 
the  language  of  Cheke,  Ascham,  Whetstone,  and  Sidney.  But 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  what  obtained  in  actual  practice  was  a 
vigorous  and  headlong  romanticism,  the  question  arises  whether, 
after  all,  the  classicists'  objections  were  not  largely  academic,  and 
not  much  more  \dtal  than  the  insistence  upon  classical  meters. 
How  much  of  the  expressed  hostihty  to  the  romantic  drama  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  it  had  long  been  the  fashion  in  learned  circles 
to  sneer  at  whatever  lacked  the  flavor  of  classical  antiquity?  How 
sincere  was  the  insistence  upon  strict  regularity  in  matters  of 
form?  What  was  the  critical  attitude  toward  imaginative  lit- 
erature in  general,  and  particularly  toward  the  unfailing  source 
of  romantic  ideas  and  inspiration,  the  Middle  Ages? 

Whatever  answer  we  might  find  for  these  questions,  it  is  quite 
clear  that  the  native  dramatic  impulse  was  too  strong  to  be  made 
to  yield,  except  in  a  minor  degree,  to  the  restraints  of  classical 
precedent.  The  actual  number  of  plays  which  conform  to  human- 
istic ^andards  is  comparatively  small,  and  these  are  represented 
largely  by  the  artificial  Latin  drama  of  the  universities.  Even 
the  greatly  beloved  Senecan  tragedy  yielded  to  the  inspired  genius 
of  Marlowe  and  Kyd.  The  sober  and  stately  Gorboduc  is  held 
up  by  Sidney  as  an  example  of  romantic  license.  Whetstone,  it 
is  true,  sought  to  strengthen  precept  by  example  in  making  his 
dramatized  Italian  novella  conform  to  the  Aristotelian  principles 
of  structure,  and  the  Arthurian  legends  are  made  by  the  young 
scholars  of  Gray's  Inn,  to  yield  "a  truly  Thyestian  history  of  a 
noble  house  devoted  for  its  crimes  of  insolence  to  ruin."  But  the 
force  of  these  examples  was  no  more  effective  than  the  ridicule 
of  Sidney  in  staying  the  on-coming  flood  of  romanticism.  What- 
ever the  canons  of  criticism  might  approve,  the  temper  of  the 
pubhc  was  fiercely  and  aggressively  unclassical. 


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INDEX 

Alanus  de  Inuliss,  5.  Alfonso  the  Great,  5.  Allegory,  origin  of,  4.  Amyot, 
67.  Anglia,  2.  Anne  Boleyn,  13,  27.  Apius  and  Virginia,  90,  106.  Archaeologia,  1. 
Arnalt  and  Lucinda,  72.  Arte  of  English  Poesie,  51.  Arthur,  25,  26,  30,  31,  33,  34. 
Ascham's  Schoolmaster,  49. 

Baskerville,  vii,  119.  Bel-Acucil,  Hberation  of,  15.  Bertrand  de  Guesclin,  30. 
Bevis  of  Hampton,  50,  52.  Bien  Avise,  ]\Ial  Avise,  6.  Bins,  29.  Boethius'  Consola- 
tio  Philosophiae,  5.  Bond,  J.  W.,  35,  39.  "Brief  and  Necessary  Instruction,"  50. 
Brooke,  T.,  89.  Brotanek,  1,  4,  15,  29.  Brunhiiber,  103.  Brute,  26.  Bugbears, 
138.     Burckhardt,  6,  9,  10,  11. 

Cadwallader,  26.  Calisto  and  Melibea,  90.  Castle  allegory,  development  of, 
14  fT.  Castle,  attack  upon,  14.  Castle  of  Beauty,  8,  21.  Castle  of  Loyalty,  20. 
Celestina,  58.  Chambers,  9,  31.  Charles  V,  28,  31.  Chateau  d'Amour,  attacks  upon, 
23.  Chateau  de  Ham-sur-Somme,  tournament  at,  28.  Children  of  the  Chapel,  66.  Chil- 
dren of  Westminster,  62.  Chinon  of  England,  59.  Collier,  1,  6,  23,  54.  Commedia 
deir  Arte,  138  Common  Conditions,  VI,  89  ff.  Anomalies  in  the  plot  of,  95.  Flavor 
of  Greek  romance  in,  101.  Probable  date  of,  89.  IMeter  used  in,  106.  Probable 
source  of,  96  fT.     Courthope,  4.     Creizenach,   14,  79,  ?^3.     Crestien  de  Troyes,  28. 

Damon  and  Pythias,  106.  Defense  of  Rhyme,  52.  De  la  Rue,  28,  30.  Dis- 
guisings  at  marriage  of  Prince  Arthur,  5  ff.  Durer,  Albert,  9.  Dramatic  criticism, 
attitude  of  toward  romantic  drama,  131;  origin  of  in  England,  130. 

Earl  of  Cumberland,  35.  Earl  of  Leceister's  men,  81,  83,  85.  Earl  of  War- 
wick's servants,  69,  76.  Edward  III,  25,  29.  Edward  VI,  13,  42.  EHzabeth,  pla\'s 
presented  before,  62  ff.  Elizabethan  drama,  first  period  in,  87;  meters  used  in,  106. 
Erasmus,  49. 

Fairholt,  9,  10,  27.  Famous  Victories  of  Henry  V,  137.  Felix  and  Felismina,  86. 
Feuillerat,  13,  etc.  Floris  and  Blauncheflur,  5.  Florisel  de  Niquea,  73,  75.  For- 
tune, mask  of,  4.  Foster  Children  of  Desire,  21.  Four  Prentices,  56.  French  Society 
of  Antiquaries,  12.     Froissart,  19.     Fulk  Greville,  21,  41. 

Gammer  Gurton's  Needle,   106.     Gascoigne,  33,  35.     Geraldi,  96.  Gerilion 

ol  England,  53.     Gerould,  G.  H.,  93.     Godfrey  of  Bouillon,  30.     Gosson,  126.  Grasse, 

26,  30.     Greek  romances,  68.     Green's  Tu  Quoque,   10.     Greene's  James  IV,   137. 
Guinevere,  28.     Guy  of  Warwick,  31,  50,  52. 

Hall,  10,  16,  19,  27,  32.  Hampton  Court,  27.  Haupt,  11.  Howes,  19,  32. 
Hazlitt,  63.  Henry  VII,  44.  Henry  VIII,  pageant  at  court  of,  12,  16,  20,  27;  Letters 
and  Papers  of,  17,  18,  26,  Henslowe's  Diary,  71,  77,  84.  Herpetulus,  70.  History 
of  the  Collier,  83.     Hoby's  Courtier,  42.     Hohnshed,  31.     Huon  of  Bordeau.x,  52. 

Italian  novelle,  use  of  in  drama,  61.     Irish  Knight,  69. 

Kempe,  Losely  MSS.,  13.  Kenilworth,  Elizabeth's  entertainment  at,  33.  Knight 
of  the  Lion,  28.     Knight  of  Burning  Rock,  76.     Kittredge,  90,  108. 

Lady  Barbara,  79.  Laneham's  Letter,  33.  Landau,  101.  Le  Chasteau  d' 
Amour,  15,   19.     Legend  of  Perseus,   119.     Locrine,   137.     Lord  Berners,  52.     Lord 


INDEX  147 

Chamberlain's  Company,  81.     Lord  Howard's  Servants,  71.      Love's  Labour's  Lost, 
30.     Iiidi  of  Edward,  III,   1.     Lydgate.  2  ft".     Lyly,  39,  75. 

AL\SKS,  symbolism  in,  46;  portrayal  of  character  in,  45;  influence  upon  technical 
factors  of  drama,  43.  Masque  of  the  Twelve  ]\Ionths,  23.  Man  tried  by  Fate,  93. 
Mediaeval  literature,  surviving  interest  in,  49.  Meliadus,  69.  Meres,  51.  Misogo- 
nus,  90.     Moriz  von  Craon,  11.     Morte  D'.\rthur,  34.     Mount  of  Love,  7,  11. 

Nash,  51,  "Anatomie  of  Absurditie,"  135.  Neilson,  4,  12,  14,  23.  Nichols, 
21,  29,  30.     Nine  Worthies,  30,  46,  56. 

Old  Wives'  Tale,  70.  Ommeganck,  9.  Orlando  Furioso,  79.  Orpheus, 
story  of  in  pageantry,  13. 

Painter's  Palace  of  Pleasure,  48.  Palladine  of  England,  55.  Palmerin  d' 
Oliva,  55.  Panecia,  84.  Pantomime,  84.  Paris,  Gaston,  11.  Paris  and  Vienna, 
62  ff.  Parsimus,  59.  Perceforest,  113  S.  Perrot,  Joseph  de,  77.  Petit  de  JuUe- 
ville,  6.  Phaer,  106.  PhiUp  II,  28,  31.  Phigon  and  Lucia,  81.  Placidas,  83.  Pope 
Clement  V,  26.  Prince  Arthur,  visit  to  Coventry,  29.  Puritan  hostility  to  the  drama, 
135. 

Rape  of  the  Second  Helen,  75.  RatcUfTe,  Sir  Thomas,  22.  Red  Rose  Knight, 
56  ff  Reyher,  2.  Richard  Bower,  90.  Robert  Bruce,  30,  31.  Robert  Compte 
d'Artois,  37.  Robert  Wilson,  108.  Robin  Hood's  Foresters,  11.  Roger  Mortimer, 
25.  Rolandinus  Pativinus,  24.  Romances  of  chivalry  used  in  masks,  25.  Roman  de 
la  Fortune,  5.  Roman  de  Judas  Machabee,  30.  Roman  de  la  Rose,  4,  15.  Roman- 
ische  Forschungen,  64.     Romantic  Allegories,  3.     Rouge  Dragon,  26.     Round  Table, 

25.  Ryche  Mounte,  pageant  of,  12. 

Schroder,  Edw.,  11.  Schultz,  25,  26.  Segar,  35.  Sehmus,  137.  Shakespeare, 
6,  23,  48.  Ship,  origin  of  in  pageantry,  8.  Sidney,  Sir  Philip,  21,  42,  132.  Sir 
Clyomon  and  Sir  Clamydes,  authorship  of,  108;  meter  used  in,  107;  plot  of,  110;  source 
of,  113  ff.;  probable  date  of,  105.  Sir  Henry  Lee,  iS.  Sir  Robert  Lane's  men,  79. 
Six  Wortliies,  31.     Solitary  Knight,  71.     Sources  of  early  drama,  49.     St.  Barbara, 

26.  St.  George,  26.     Stow,  John,   1.     Stubbs,   135.     Supposes,  138.     Symbolism  in 
masks,  5  ff. 

Thersites,  90.  Tilt-yard  fictions,  French  influence  upon,  37.  Theogenes  and 
Chariclea,  67.  Titus  and  Gisippus,  85.  Tottel's  Miscellany,  106.  Traged}'  of  the 
King  of  Scottes,  66.  Trionfo,  9.  Tudor  love  of  gaiety,  29.  Two  Italian  Gentlemen, 
138. 

Valentine  and  Orson,  29.  Venusberg,  12.  Virgin  Martyr,  82.  Vives,  50. 
Voeu.x  du  Paon,   30,    127.     \'oretzsch,   Karl,   5. 

Walsingham,  25,  35.  Warton,  1.  Whetstone's  Promos  and  Cassandra,  131. 
Wild  Men  in  pageants,   11,   12.     Wolff,  S.  L.,  67. 


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